


All You Knead is Love

by Lucca_Kane



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Masturbation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Pizza Shop!AU, Razzabang - Freeform, Romance, Sexual Tension, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:01:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1865556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucca_Kane/pseuds/Lucca_Kane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry gets a job at a pizza shop for the summer to help pay for school. Danny gets a job at the same pizza shop to help pay to live.</p><p> </p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rumor Has It

**Author's Note:**

> I have been thinking about this AU for a very long time and I finally got off my lazy ass and wrote it.
> 
> Beta'd by the lovely Hannah

            You can do this, it's just a summer job, you don't have to work here forever, besides, Arin works here. The clock reads 2:50. Should he go in now? His interview is at 3:00 and he's in his car, staring at the clock every thirty seconds hoping that it would just be 3:00 so he could get this over with already. Barry sighs and checks his phone, wondering if Arin is even working right now.  2:55. well he should probably go in now. Barry takes a deep breath and steps out of his car, mechanically locking it and trying to keep his composure as he continues to go through the motions. It almost feels like an out of body experience as he opens the door to the little pizza shop, glancing down at his shirt one more time, wondering if he should have worn something more professional. Why the hell didn't he ask Arin before he came in? Barry looks past the counter, seeing his friend Arin, smiling when it immediately puts him at ease to see the other boy. Arin is on the phone and hasn't seen Barry yet, so Barry sits down on one of the small chairs provided for guests and waits. After a few moments, another boy peeks his head out from behind the dividing wall of warming cabinets, and scrambles to the front counter, regarding Barry with a large smile that lights up his blue eyes, "Welcome to Little Caesars, what can I do for you?" He asks.

            Barry remembers him. He can't quite remember the boy's name, but he, Barry and Arin had seen a movie the last week for the other guy's birthday. They had seen the new X-men movie, and all three of them had had a great time, discussing comics and stuff after as Arin drove them home. Barry felt bad he couldn't remember the guy's name. Speaking of Arin, he was finally off the phone, "I'm here for an interview," Barry replies, and the counter boy nods.

            "Oh really? That's cool! I can get the manager if you want?" The boy says, pointing a thumb behind him.

            "It's ok, Ross, I can tell her," Arin interrupts, walking towards Barry, "C'mon in, I'll tell Kat you're here."

            Right, his name was Ross. Barry returns his attention to Arin, who's smiling and gesturing for him to follow. Barry stands and follows his taller friend, wringing his hands at his sides when the nervousness bubbles up within his gut again. "Thanks, Arin," he says quietly.

            Arin only looks over his shoulder and smiles, "No prob, Bar. Hey Kat! Barry is here for his interview!" He turns away and yells the second part, his hair that's in a little pony tail underneath his visor swishing as he does so.

            A short girl appears from nowhere, a huge smile on her face and tattoos covering her arms, she has a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. Arin has disappeared back to work, and Kat speaks up finally, "Shall we step outside, Barry?"

            Barry nods and smiles weakly, following after her, Ross peeks his head out from behind the warming cabinets again, "Good luck!" He shouts without reservation, giving Barry a thumbs up.

            Once they were outside, Kat smiles and looks down at her clipboard, and Barry notices that it's the sloppily written resume he had turned in, "Okie dokie, let's get this underway!" She says, then looks up at Barry, "I'm gonna be honest, I'm just gonna go on Arin's word. He said you would be a good worker and I trust him."

            Barry is surprised, "Oh, cool, thank you!" he says.

            Kat smiles and looks down at the clipboard again, "Are you still open all hours?" she as

            "Yeah, anytime," Barry affirms.

            "Do you have any days soon that you need time off from?"

            Barry squirms for a minute, "Well, it is my birthday in two weeks."

            Kat's face brightens up, "Ok, what day?" Barry tells her, and she writes it down on the paper underneath the resume, giving a small nod as she does so. "Alright, then, we'll get you a t-shirt and hat and employee manual and send you on your way!"

            They return to the inside of the shop, Kat walking behind the counter in front of Ross, and the boy's face lights up, "Did you get the job?" He asks.

            Barry nods, "Yeah," he says with a small smile.

            "Awesome! Congratulations!" Ross replies, giving him a thumbs up again.

           Kat groans from underneath the counter and pops her head back up, offering a packet to Barry before speaking, "I'm sorry Barry, I can't find the stupid shirts, I'll get it to you on your first day, just come in early, kay?"

            Barry nods again, just as Arin reappears from the back, a smudge of flour on his cheek, "You get it?" He asks, wiping his hands on his apron.

            Barry smiles, "Yup."

            Arin smiles a toothy grin, "Awesome, dude!"

            "I'll call you and let you know when your first day is, Barry, and welcome to the Little Caesar's team!" Kat says, waving at Barry as he leaves the small store.

            Barry is still smiling once he enters his car, his chin touching his chest in his happy embarrassment. As he pulls out of the parking lot a tiny laugh bubbles up from his lips. Well that was easier than he thought.

           

            Almost a week later, Barry is watching a movie on his laptop and is only half paying attention. He starts work tomorrow, and he can feel the anxiety starting to build in his gut. He knows it will only get worse as the night goes on, and even tomorrow morning until he actually gets through the work day. He hasn't worked for practically a year since he's been in school, and he's out of practice. It's just a job though, right? Barry is already reaching for his phone before he knows it; texting Arin.

            _To: Arin_

_God I'm so stupid, I'm really fucking nervous for work tomorrow._

 

            Barry is more talkative through text messages, he supposes it's because he's not actually talking at all.

            _From: Arin_

_Dude don't worry about it, everyone there is super chill. Plus it's not like anything we do there is rocket science._

Barry knows Arin is just trying to make him feel better, but he still can't help the anxious feeling roiling in the pit of his stomach, making him almost physically ill. He groans into his phone, chewing on the inside of his lip. God this was so stupid! He's done harder things in his life than making fucking pizzas for God's sake. He gasps as his phone vibrates, the device falling out of his hands and onto his chest. It's another text from Arin.

            _From: Arin_

_Dude I can LITERALLY feel your fucking nervousness right now._

            Barry makes a face, absently peeling the dead skin from the bottom of his lip as he quickly answers back.

            _To: Arin_

 _It's frustrating because I know that this job isn't going to be rocket science, and that the people there seem really nice. It's just, I guess I'm worried about fucking up_ _majorly somehow and in the process making myself look like an idiot._

_From: Arin_

_It's the first work day jitters man, it should go away after tomorrow._

Barry sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

            _To: Arin_

            _I hope so because this fucking suuuuuucks._

He needed something to lighten the mood because thinking about the possibility of fucking up so horrendously that he gets fired on the spot makes him almost have to run for the nearest trashcan.  Barry takes a deep breath and tries to think of anything that could possibly calm him down, and turns to the one thing that had always helped him in the past; video games.

 

 

            The anxiety is even worse the next morning. At one point he seriously considers calling in sick, but his mom would never fucking allow it. He supposes it was a trade off. On the plus side he doesn't have to pay rent or pay for food or really pay for anything during the summer, just as long as he gets a job so he can help pay for college in the fall. On the down side he's living with his parents again, and that means he has to play by their rules. Rules that constitute that you can't chicken out on your first day of work just because you're nervous. Barry had tried to explain to his mom once that there was a difference between nervousness and the soul crippling fear that you were going to fuck up so bad in front of strangers that you would never want to be seen in public again, but she just told him he didn't have social anxiety so Barry never brought it up again after that.

            He had been so anxious last night even after playing video games that he hadn't slept well. Sure he was used to late nights from college but there was a difference between purposeful sleep avoidance and uncontrollable sleep avoidance. He noticed when he looked in his bathroom mirror before taking a shower that the bags under his eyes were even a little bit darker than normal.

            Barry agonizingly chews on his cereal, staring into the kitchen table but not really seeing the kitchen table. His mom is doing the dishes that his father had clearly left out the night before, and the television is on. Barry hardly even notices that it's on let alone what show is playing. Barry's mom works from home, has for as long as he could remember. For the longest time he didn't even know what his mom _did_ , just knew that it involved her doing a lot of paperwork that could be done from home.  "You still nervous?" She asks as she takes the bowl and spoon out from Barry's hands. He didn't even notice he had finished it; he even drank the leftover milk.

            "Yeah," he replies, flicking a crumb on the table and watching as it flies away to places unknown.

            His mother gives him a gentle smile, "It'll be fine, honey, you'll do great."

            It's the same speech she's given him since he was a child, and even though the words were meant to be comforting, and he knew his mother meant well, the words didn't make him feel better like they used to. Thems the ropes of growing up, he figures. "Thanks Mom," he says anyway, because that's the polite thing to do.

            "What time is your shift, honey?" His mom asks, closing the dishwasher door with her hip.

            "3:00 to 8:00," Barry replied, and he can practically hear the groan in his own voice as he flicks another crumb into oblivion.

            His mom just gives him another gentle smile and assures him that everything is going to be okay, before she disappears into the back of the house where her office is.  That leaves Barry alone with his thoughts, which is never good when his anxiety is threatening to burn him up from the inside out. So he decides to watch television. His family doesn't have satellite T.V., but they do have Netflix, so Barry doesn't complain. He queues up an episode of _Mythbusters_ that he's probably seen a dozen times just for the familiarity of it all. Plus watching things explode never hurt anyone did it?

            He's doing that thing where he's checking his phone every minute, worrying that he's somehow going to miss the time he set himself to leave. Kat said to come in early, and he feels weird going to a job without a uniform.  He should leave at 2:30, and even though it's only 2:15, he's still worriedly checking his phone, hardly paying attention to the T.V. anymore. He's going over the checklist in his mind. Does he have the packet Kat gave him? Is it filled out completely? Does he have a copy of his ID and his social security card? Does he have his wallet? Is he wearing the right kind of pants and shoes?  He's got everything, but he goes over the list one more time anyway since he still has time to waste.

            2:25 finally rolls around and Barry figures he should say goodbye to his mom before he leaves. He practically trudges back to her office, knocking on the door once before peeking his head in. His mother is hunched over her desk, but she looks up as soon as Barry enters. "You heading out sweetie?" She asks, standing up. Barry nods, and he already knows she's coming in for a hug. His assumptions are correct and she kisses him on his head even though he's taller than her. "You're gonna do great, Honey, don't worry."

            Barry feels a flush of almost shame run through him. It was like his mom was talking to a little kid almost too afraid to go through with something, giving support while at that same time giving that final push to get him to go. His stomach roils and he nods again, "Thanks Mom," he murmurs, because she's only trying to make him feel better.

            She lets him go and gives him a smile, "You have everything?" And when Barry answers yes her smile widens, "Go get 'im, tiger."

           

            Barry almost doesn't remember the drive over to the store. It happens to him sometimes when he's worried or really tired, and honestly it's probably a combination of both. It scares him how he can just drive and not be aware that he's doing it, and it doesn't help his scrambling stomach. It's 2:45 and he figures that now is a good a time as any, and tries not to look like a condemned man walking to the hangman's noose as he walks in the door. "Welcome to Little Ceaser's how can I-oh hi Barry!" It's Ross, and that's almost enough to make Barry cry from relief. A familiar face is such a relief to him, and Ross smiles just as brightly at him as he did a week ago.

            "Hi Ross," Barry returns the greeting with a relieved smile, and perks up even more when he notices a certain blond streaked head appear from nowhere.

            "Hey Bar!" Arin says, standing at the threshold between the counter and the front of the store. He laughs when Barry doesn't move and gestures for him to come to him, "You _are_ allowed to come back here, you know. You _do_ work here now."

            Barry hears Ross snigger from where he's pretending to arrange bags of crazy bread. Barry follows Arin into the back and he calls for Kat once again. "So did you just clock on or-?" Barry asks, because he's curious to know. Working with Arin on his first day would be fantastic, but by the way Arin's face falls a little, Barry can tell that that's not going to be the case. He feels his stomach drop.

            "Naw, I get off at 3:00," Arin replies with an apologetic half shrug, giving Barry a slightly worried look before Kat appears. Arin smiles suddenly and claps Barry on the shoulder, leaving a flour hand print in its wake, "Well, I leave you in the capable hands of Kat!" and with that he returns to work.

           

            Kat is very patient with him, answering his questions thoroughly and with a smile. When she hands him his work shirt and visor and tells him that he can change in the bathroom, Barry is almost relieved. It was going well, no major fuck ups yet. Even though he hasn't actually started working yet Barry feels better. He quickly changes shirts and tucks the work shirt into his pants, noticing that is smells faintly of some kind oil. He shrugs and sort of balls his shirt up with his jacket and exits the bathroom, setting the little bundle down on some crates in the back where he notices other employees have done the same. He slips the visor on, but has to take it off to adjust it a little. He curses his big head and slips the visor back on, hoping he doesn't get a headache on top of everything else. Kat is waiting for him with the same warm smile as before and tells him to grab an apron and follow her.

            He realizes very quickly why Kat is a manager. She's very knowledgeable and good at her job. She's funny and talkative and makes sure Barry understands how to do something before moving on to something else. The first thing Barry learns to do is how to sauce and cheese pizzas. It's actually quite easy, and when Kat tells him that she's never seen anyone do it so cleanly on their first try Barry smiles and resists the urge to bury his chin in his chest out of happy embarrassment. Kat is a very interesting lady. She's obviously older than Barry, but not by much it seems. Her arms are covered in tattoos and she has orange streaks in her black hair. Barry also notices she has a dermal piercing on the dip between her collar bones. She's also very very interested in Barry's life and asks him a lot of questions. Where he's from, how old he is, and if he's going to school. It makes Barry smile since she seems so genuinely interested in what he's saying. Barry hasn't spoken about himself this much to a practical stranger in a really long time. It feels weird, but not bad.

            He's learning how to put the pizza dough into pans when Ross idles by, laughing about something. "Oh yeah, I have to start a rumor about you!" He says, and Barry gives him a weird look. "Oh no it's just something I do for everybody! Like Arin for example!  His rumor is that he's secretly working for the FBI or the CIA because he seems to know _literally everybody_." Ross gives him a serious look, as if he actually believes his own rumors.

            Barry gives him another look and adjusts an edge of a piece of dough so it fits in the pan correctly, "So what's my rumor?"

            Ross makes a face like he's thinking, "Well what do you like to do?"

            Barry thinks for a moment, "I want to get a job as a movie editor."

            Ross's eye light up, "Whoa! Like edit movies for the big screen and stuff?" It seems he's already forgotten about the rumor business.

            Barry laughs lightly and nods, "Yeah, I like the idea of taking all these different shots and putting them together in a coherent way so an audience can enjoy it. Maybe even do some special effects stuff, like CGI."

            Ross nods, still wide eyed and smiling, but then his face falls into thought once again, "Wait, they don't film movies in order?"

            Barry laughs louder this time, going back to putting dough into pans, "No, they don't,"  and the look of pure devastation on Ross's face at the revelation almost sends Barry into a laughing fit.

           

            The rumor Ross eventually comes up with makes Barry laugh. Ross claims that he and Arin work together in the FBI. Barry is one of those people who covers up accidents and stuff like that. He's the guy who covers up the conspiracies and scandals. He's their go to man if the FBI ever wants something to be erased and never found. Barry fondly points out that he and Arin are too young to work in the FBI, but Ross just claims that that's something an FBI agent would say.

            By the end of his shift Barry swears he's made more pizzas in five hours than he's eaten in his entire life. He's sweaty and covered with flour-Ross gave him angel wings on his back by smacking his shoulders-and his feet are killing him, but he is more relaxed than he has been in the past two days. He made it through the day without fucking up at all he's so fucking happy. He did it and actually even had fun. Kat shows him how to print out his schedule before he leaves and he notices he works tomorrow, and there's no anxiety that threatens to eat him up and he is so very relieved that everything turned out okay. He's smiling as he leaves the store, he smiles on his way home, and he smiles as he tells his mom how well it went. She just gives him a knowing smile and hugs him and tells him he did a great job and that he should be proud of himself; and he is. He's proud and kind of embarrassed at how nervous he was. His mom laughs when he says he needs another shower, and offers to make him something to eat. Once he's finally full and comfortable, watching Netflix as the sun finally goes down, he thinks that this summer wasn't going to be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ages:
> 
> Barry: 20 (going to be 21 soon)  
> Arin: 23  
> Ross: 23  
> Danny: 27  
> Suzy: 22  
> Brian: 25  
> Holly: 23


	2. Teenage Dirtbag

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the lovely Erin.

            Ever since he started college, Barry has come to understand and appreciate the importance of alarms. If it weren't for his alarm clock and his secondary phone alarm, Barry wasn't sure if he would have even passed his first semester.

            Barry is a notoriously easy riser. Hell for most of his life all it took to wake him up was his mom coming in and saying his name. If he has something to do, Barry wakes up for the alarm no matter how late he went to bed. The opposite is also true though; if Barry doesn't have something to do or something planned, 99% of the time he will set his alarm for half an hour later and the cycle repeats until it gets to the point where he literally _forces_ himself out of bed before he wastes a whole day sleeping. That's what happens when his phone wakes him up for the fourth time at noon on his second day of work. He works at 3:00 again, and wants to actually get some food in him and wake up before he has to stand on his feet making pizzas for five hours.

            His mom doesn't comment on how late he slept when he wanders out of his room, rubbing an eye. He contemplates a shower as he passes the bathroom but decides against it since he did in fact take two showers yesterday. He pours himself a bowl of Cap'n Crunch and lets it sit for a moment while he queues something up on Netflix. He watches for a few minutes to let the milk soak into the cereal. He adamantly tells anyone that asks why he does this that he likes his cereal not quite so cheek splittingly crunchy. Arin tried to make fun of him for it once, eating Cap'n Crunch dry out of the box, but ended up cutting his gums right behind his two front teeth, and now refuses to ever eat it again.

            On the second episode in, Barry's mom wanders into the living room from her office, her purse slung over her shoulder, "Going somewhere?" Barry asks, sipping the last of the milk in the bowl.

            "I have some errands to run," his mother replies vaguely, "want to come?"

            Barry nods; beats sitting around here doing nothing. "I have work at 3:00," he reminds her and she nods back.

            "I'll be done before then."

            Barry stands, "Hold on I gotta put on pants." He races to his room and slips on a pair of jeans and a belt. He has to wear one with ever pair of pants he owns no matter how well they fit him. He decides not to change his shirt, he only wore this one to bed after all, but slips on a jacket in case his mom decides to comment. He grabs a pair of mismatched sock and slips on his shoes before following his mom out the door.

            Barry is sitting in the car while his mom is inside the bank when his phone vibrates. He wonders which one of his three friends that actually talk to him decided to text him. It turns out to be Arin, and Barry, one handed, unlocks his phone and looks at the message.

            _From: Arin_

_I see that a certain Barry is working again today._

            Barry makes a face but replies anyway.

            _To: Arin_

_Yeah, I am. What's the big deal?_

Barry's mom returns and drives off before Arin responds again, and when he does, Barry's mom asks who it is. Barry tells her it's Arin and she just smiles.

            _From: Arin_

_Well it seems that a certain best friend of yours may or may or may not be working the same shift as you._

Barry perks up at that.

            _To: Arin_

_Really?! That's great!_

 

            The errands only take about an hour, and Barry's mom stops at the gas station on the way back to get a fountain soda. It's a tradition that somehow spawned from Barry going with her to do errands. The sodas are really cheap here, and they've gone so often that the people who work there know them. "You want one?" Barry's mom asks once they're inside.

            Barry chews on the inside of his lip for a moment, "No," he replies. He's trying to cut back on soda since he went a little crazy when he was away at school. He's really a Dr. Pepper man if he were to stop and think about it, but his school only had Pepsi products, so he had gotten pretty addicted to diet Pepsi. He tried to convince himself at the time that it was healthier for him than regular soda, but since he had gotten home he's tried to cut back. So far he's gone seven days without one and he's pretty proud of himself. It may not sound like much but Barry considers going from at least one soda a day to none for seven days a big improvement. Barry's mom makes a face and he laughs a little nervously, "Well I should say I _do_ want one, I'm just not going to have one."

            Barry's mom makes a noise like she understands, "Do you want something else?"

            "Can I get a Propel?" He asks and she says yes. Strawberry Kiwi is his favorite.

           

Barry, for maybe the first time in his life, is actually excited to go to work. Arin, his best friend, is going to be there working right beside him and its going to be great! He sips at his Propel with a smile on his face as he's watching Mythbusters again. "Something funny?" His mom asks, making a sandwich.

            Barry half shrugs and sets the bottle down, "Arin works the same shift as me," he replies.

            "Oh won't that be fun!" His mom says, "Don't get into trouble, you two," she ads in a mock stern voice, wagging a finger at him.

            Barry only laughs, "Or I'll be dead to you just like the casinos?"

            His mom laughs and makes an offended gesture, "We don't talk about those things they are _dead_ to me!"

            It's an inside joke that his family shares. He and his mom like to do stupid accents when they are together, and the most recent one is a stereotypical New York/Jewish mother. It makes Barry laugh because that's essentially what his mom is but she sounds nothing like it.

            He spends practically the next 20 minutes doing the accent back and forth with his mom, and by the time they're done they're both practically in tears. Barry is clutching his belly on the couch, his eyes screwed shut as his mom his supporting herself on the kitchen table, in a similar state. He likes laughing like this, the only other time he gets to laugh like this is with Arin, and that's just because the guy is so damn _funny._ The stuff he comes up with sometimes.

Barry gets to work about ten minutes early, even though he had a very slow anger inducing driver in front of him half of the drive over. Barry could be pretty graceful in a lot of things but for some reason bad drivers just irritated the _hell_ out of him; and don't even get him started on people who don't use their turn signals. He slips the visor over his head as he locks his car, making a face as he looks at himself in the window reflection. He needs a haircut, his hair is poofy and sticking out of his visor in a really weird way; maybe Suzy could cut it for him.

            Ross is not at the front counter when Barry enters, but he can immediately see that Arin is putting pepperoni on pizzas, and strolls into the back. He gently hip checks Arin as he passes him, sniggering when Arin tries to stick his ass out fast enough to hit him back, looking like he just tried to twerk. Barry slips on an apron before joining Arin in putting pepperoni on pizza, and after about a minute of easy silence, Arin viciously hip checks Barry and laughs like a maniac as Barry stumbles and laughs himself.  Kat greets Barry as she passes, asking how he's doing. Barry responds with a, "good" before she twirls away to do whatever it is managers do.

            After a few minutes of more pepperoni and subtle hip checks, the front door bell chimes and Arin abandons his station next to Barry to go to the front counter, but not before Barry hip checks him in the ass. Arin sends him a quick deadly look over his shoulder before disappearing to the front. Barry laughs to himself, continuing with the pepperoni pattern Kat had taught him the day before. 4,5,6,6,5,4. "Kat, Dan is here!" Arin calls, strolling back to the line, another man filing in behind him.

            Barry glances up at the guy. The first thing he notices is his hair. The messy curls are pulled back into what can only be described as a pony tail, but even the hair tie can barely keep the awesome power of his mop of curls held back and away from his face. He's incredibly thin and tall which just makes him all the skinnier looking, and he's got an easy smile on his stubbly face. Barry can also see the scar running through his right eyebrow even though the guy has pulled down his uniform baseball cap low over his eyes. Barry makes a mental note to ask Kat for a baseball cap instead of a visor just so his own hair won't look so doofy.

            "Hey, sorry again that I'm late," the guy says to Kat, absently fiddling with his hair. He's got a hint of a New Jersey accent and it makes Barry's mouth quirk because it reminds him of doing accents with his mom. Barry frowns, he shouldn't laugh about the way other people talk. "My ride totally bailed on me last second," he finishes.

            "No, you called first, so it's fine!" Kat replies, and gestures that he should follow her into the back.

            "New guy?" Barry asks as soon as Arin returns to his station.

            Arin glances where Kat and the new guy disappeared and nods, "Yeah, Dan? He's great!"

            Barry blinks, "You know him?"

            Arin nods again, "Yeah."

            He doesn't elaborate, so Barry decides to leave the issue alone. Arin would tell him if he wanted to. Barry smiles lightly, "So Ross's rumor must be true...?" he trails off, eyeing Arin out of his peripheral vision.

            Arin almost snorts a laugh, "I don't know everybody," he says, adjusting his visor with the palm of his hand.

            Barry gestures to where Kat and Danny had disappeared to with raised eyebrows, "Really?"

            Arin shakes his head, "Just because I happen to know Dan means nothing," he replies.

            "Suuuure," Barry trails off as he grabs another handful of pepperoni. He barks out a laugh when Arin hip checks him again.

            The front door bell chimes and Arin spins away before Barry can return fire. Arin cackles softly over his shoulder before he composes himself into the perfect cashier. Barry can hardly hear him over the practical roar of the ovens behind him. He slips another prepped pizza into the rack when Arin shouts, "Two pep, one cheese!"

            A disjointed chorus of, "Two pep, one cheese!" responds and Barry slips the order into the oven.

            "Hey Barry can I have you come do something for me?" Kat asks from the back of the store.

            Barry approaches, and the tall newcomer is standing behind Kat with an easy smile on his face. Barry resists the urge to laugh because the apron he's wearing hardly reaches to the middle of his thighs while Barry's touches past his knees. He's not particularly short but this guy is just so ludicrously tall. "Yeah, what's up?"

            "You learned how to do sheet outs yesterday, right?" She asks. Barry nods and she smiles, "Great! Can you teach Danny how to do it? I have some paperwork I _desperately_ need to finish."

            Barry spares a quick glance at Dan before nodding at Kat, "Yeah no problem," he says and Kat pats him on the shoulder as she passes.

            "Thanks Barry!"

            Dan is still smiling easily at him when Barry focuses his attention on him, and it makes Barry's insides kind of squirm, "Uh yeah so I'm Barry and I'm gonna teach you to do the thing," he says, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the walk-in refrigerator. Smooth, Barry. Real smooth.

            Barry only gets more flustered when Dan chuckles at him, "Then teach me the ways of doing the thing, oh great Barry of Little Caesars," he jokes, and Barry lets out a bark of nervous laughter.

           

            As it turns out, Danny is a really fast learner too, and is easily adjusting the flattened pizza dough into pans as quickly as Barry can send them through the hopper. "You're good at this," Barry comments casually as he flips another dough into the pan.

            "When I was still living in New York I worked at a small pizza shop for a while. We hand tossed the pizzas and didn't use pans like this but it's essentially the same thing," Danny shrugs, adjusting the dough before fitting it into another stack. "I figured this job wouldn't be a hard way to earn some extra cash."

            "You're from New York?" Barry asks, pulling this particular piece of dough more circular since it came out of the hopper a little wonky.

            "Across the river," Danny replies with a side glance and a smile.

            "Jersey then," Barry says, and Dan nods.

            "Yup."

           

            They lapse into a companionable silence for a while, until Arin comes along and hip checks Barry in the ass in retaliation for the first offense that Barry obviously initiated. It startles Barry as his hips are sent into the table in front of him and he almost drops the dough in his hands. Arin is cackling as he heads to the sink in the back-presumably to wash his hands-as Barry recovers from the practical heart attack. He sends Arin a stony look before flipping the dough safely into the pan. Barry notices that Dan is shaking and his face flushes in embarrassment when he realizes that Dan is shaking because he is holding in laughter. "I'm assuming you know Arin?" Dan asks after he composes himself, a stray giggle erupting after the question.

            Barry rounds out the next dough with a little more force than he needs to, "Yeah, he's a really good friend."

            "How'd you two meet?" Dan asks, sliding the stack into the rack.

            "We met at a convention," Barry says, smiling fondly at the memory as Dan fishes out more pans from underneath the table. "We both entered the Super Smash Bros tournament and made it to the finals."

            "And who won?" Dan asks, sprinkling corn meal into the bottom of the pans.

            "Is there anyone in the lobby?" Arin suddenly interrupts, and Barry gives him a weird look. Dan leans to check and shakes his head which causes Arin to whip around to point at Barry, "This guy fucking _cheated_ that's how!"

            Dan breaks out in a laugh when Barry turns and fires back, "Oh, still stuck on that, are you? I've moved on from it!"

            "That's because you won!" Arin growls back. There's a terse moment of silence where both parties are glaring at one another until suddenly both of them are laughing so hard tears start forming in their eyes.

            Barry is wiping his eyes with the heel of his hand as Arin flits to the front counter as the door chimes. He wanders to the sink to quickly wash his hands before returning to his post next to Dan, who is still chuckling. "How do you cheat in Super Smash Bros?"

            "Arin is just a sore loser," Barry replies, the giggles threatening to overtake him again.

            "Who'd you beat him with?" Dan asks out of curiosity.

            Barry smiles, "Donkey Kong."

            Dan purses his lips and nods in approval.

 

            It seems like it is impossible to escape a shift from this job without being absolutely covered in flour. Even though Barry has been wearing an apron the whole time he has flour all over his shins and his visor. He takes it off and wipes his sweaty brow with his arm, wandering to the back where his water bottle sits with the rest of his things. As he's taking a sip he hears the click of the bathroom door. Danny steps out, out of his uniform and his hair out of the hair tie. Barry blinks as he takes in the entire potential of Dan's hair for the first time. It's a little more tame than Barry suspects it usually is-being under a hat for five hours-but the mop of curls is still pretty impressive. Dan adjusts the small bag that's slung over one of his shoulders and gives Barry a quick smile. "It was nice working with you Barry. Thanks for helping me," he says.

            Barry doesn't get a chance to reply since he still has water in his mouth and by the time he swallows it Dan is already strolling to the front and clocking out with a scan of his thumb. Barry shrugs and quickly takes off his apron before reaching for his things, slipping his jacket on over his head and fishing his sunglasses out of the pocket. Arin idles by, untying his apron with a sigh that puffs out his cheeks before he lets it out. "You off?" Barry asks, digging his lanyard of keys out of his other pocket. His headphones are tangled in them of course and Barry swears under his breath as he goes about untying them.

            "Mmhm," Arin replies, taking off his visor as well. He reaches for his own hair tie and shakes out his hair with a quick ruffle.

            "Cool, me too!" Barry replies and waits for Arin to gather up his things before they head towards the door, both clocking out with a scan of their thumb prints.

            Barry and Arin are parked next to one another, but Arin curses when he reaches into his pocket, "My keys must have fell out, I gotta go get 'em." When Barry nods Arin smiles and gives him a half wave, "When do you work next?"

            "Sunday," Barry says.

            It makes Arin smile."See you Sunday then," he says before going back into the restaurant.

            Barry smiles too and jingles his keys as he walks towards his car, almost stopping in his tracks when he notices that Dan is standing at the side of the building, on the phone. Barry thinks the other man would have already left by this point, and when Dan pulls his phone away from his ear with an irritated sigh, Barry can't help himself. "Do you need a ride?" he asks.

            Dan starts but he lets out a laugh, running a hand through his mop of curls, "Man you don't have to."

            "Where do you live?" Barry singles out his car key while he clutches his other keys in his fist. When Danny tells him the apartment complex Barry smiles, "That's on my way home," he says, gesturing to his car. It really isn't, but it's getting dark and he doesn't want Dan to walk all that way back home.

            Dan runs a hand through his hair again with a bright smile, "You're a lifesaver dude," he chuckles as he wanders toward the passenger side of Barry's car.

            "No problem, like I said it's on my way," Barry replies with a smile of his own as he unlocks the car.

           

            Barry forgets that if he doesn't know exactly how to get somewhere he will ask every two minutes whether or not he's going the right way. So when Dan tells him his address and he gives Dan a blank look, Dan just laughs and starts giving him turn by turn directions. As they drive, Barry reaches for one of his CDs that is sitting in his middle console compartment. "You like Queen?" he asks, glancing at Dan, mentally chuckling when he notices that Dan's legs are sort of cramped in his passenger seat. He makes a mental note to move the seat back when he gets home.

            Dan gives him a look, "Um, does the sun rise in the East?" he asks with a raise of his scarred eyebrow.

            Barry laughs as he slips the CD into the player, "Good 'cause otherwise I'd have to judge you forever."

            As the first song starts to play, Dan laughs and starts to sing along, " _Caaaan_ anybody find _meeeeeee_ , somebody _toooo_ love!!"

            Barry laughs as he starts to sing along as well, but not nearly at the volume and gusto Dan sings at. Barry is slightly amazed as they drive, Dan has a really great voice. He hits all of the notes with ease, and Barry snickers when Dan interrupts his own singing to quickly spurt out directions in tune with the melody.

            They reach Dan's house before the song is over and Dan stays in the car, hitting the last high note with a slight scrunch of his features, "Somebody _tooooo_ _looooooooove_!" As the song's final notes fade out Dan laughs and places a hand on Barry's shoulder, "Thanks again for the ride man, you rock," he says.

            "No problem," Barry replies with a small smile.

            Dan shakes Barry's shoulder in a good natured manner before slipping out of the car and disappearing into the apartment complex. Barry waits until he can't see Dan anymore before driving off just in case. It's something Arin has teased him about before, but Barry just likes to make sure people get into their houses safely. As he drives out of the apartment complex with a small smile, he can still feel the warmth of Dan's hand resting on his shoulder. And if he sings just a little bit louder on the way home than he normally does, he doesn't notice. "Don't stop me now, I'm havin' such a good time, I'm havin' a ball."

 

 

 

 


	3. Welcome to the Jungle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I started school again and I just finally got settled in!
> 
> Also if the writing is off it's because I finished this after an entire day of school writing assignments so towards the end my brain was a little fried.
> 
> And I was worried this was going to be a short chapter pffft.

            Barry and Arin are in agreement when they decide that Sunday is the absolute most boring day to work. No one wants to get pizza on a Sunday! Barry feels sorry for Ross, who is manning the front of the store once again. The guy has probably cleaned the counter and restocked the soda after every customer that stops by the little shop, just so he has something to do other than stand there. He tries to come back and help do other things once or twice, but Kat shoos him away since she's training Dan today and she doesn't need someone else taking away stations that Danny could be learning how to do.

            Arin is restocking the prep line, and Barry has been given the unfortunate duty to mix sauce. His biceps are killing him as he stirs a whisk longer than his whole arm in the goopy substance. Kat told him it needs to be the same consistency all the way from the middle to the edges but there's only so much one man can do. At least he only has to make three tubs worth. He's seen the poor souls assigned to make six or more tubs spend practically two hours making sauce and he secretly prays he never has to make that much. He fears his arms would never survive. He's taking a thirty second break from mixing to massage his arms before going back to vigorously stir. He listens as Kat teaches Dan how to prep the dough for the pans, going through the steps in his mind as she says them, seeing if he remembers all of them correctly. He does and it makes him smile as he decides that the sauce looks like it's been stirred enough. With a mighty lift and a small fear in the back of his mind that he may drop the sauce and have to clean it all up, he pours the huge bucket into a clear plastic tub. It fills easily and without incident, but Barry frowns when he sees he got sauce on his arm. He presses a 'Use By Tuesday' sticker onto the corner of the tub before moving to the sink to wipe his arm off. He figures he should wash his hands while he's at it, so he does. It seems like Kat finally caved in giving Ross another job to do, since the other boy is washing dishes. The radio near the hand washing sink is on since there's no costumers in the store, and a melody Barry doesn't recognize floats in and out above the loud sound of the spray nozzle as Ross sprays the soap off of the dishes before dropping them into the sanitation sink. He doesn't particularly care that he doesn't know the song, but appreciates the music in the background. He tosses the paper towel he used to dry his hands into the trashcan before meandering into the very back of the store to gather supplies for another bucket of sauce. 6,4,2; that was the pattern Kat told him. 6 liters of water, 4 bags of tomato paste, and two packages of spices. Barry deposits the supplies on the table near the bucket, before opening the walk-in fridge. He reaches for the heavy sauce tub up and turns with just enough time to stick his foot out and keep the fridge door from closing all of the way. He carefully maneuvers into cold fridge and slides the sauce onto the rack with it's friends. He then takes a moment to appreciate the frigid air, chuckling when he sees that there is actual steam coming off of his arms. He's still laughing about it when he moves to leave, and holds his arm up closer to his face so he can see the steam better. He's so focused on the hilarity of the situation that he doesn't notice that someone is on the other side of the door. Barry almost yelps when he feels himself collide with another body and strong familiar hands grip his shoulders so both parties don't go tumbling out of the fridge. "Whoa there! Watch where you're going!"

           Barry can feel his ears heating with embarrassment, "Sorry!" he spits out before taking a step away from Danny, who is....laughing?

            Dan is in fact laughing, both hands on his hips and doubled over, laughing so hard there might actually be tears in his eyes. "Why were you looking at your arm?" he asks between chuckles, looking up at Barry.

            The other boy's face flushes, "It was steaming!" he says, taking a particular interest at the linoleum floor so he wouldn't have to see Dan make fun of him.

            Dan's chuckles die down after a few seconds and he stands up straight, adjusting his hat before letting out a good natured sigh, "It's because you're hot."

            Barry's mind fizzles out for a moment, and he wonders if he heard Dan right, "I'm sorry?" he hears himself say and Dan just chuckles at him again.

            "It's hot as balls in here dude. I'm not surprised you were steaming," he says as he heads back into the walk-in, this time without any incidents.

            Barry glances at his arm with a slight chuckle before returning to sauce duties. He figures he can't stall any longer or Kat will be on his ass about it and he'd rather not get in trouble. He's cutting open a bag of tomato paste with a slight look of disgust when Dan comes out of the walk in with a large tray of pizza dough balanced easily on his hip. "You must be literally boiling dude because I didn't steam when I went in there," he comments as he passes Barry.

            Barry gives his arm another fleeting look as he messily empties the paste into the large bucket, "I'm fine," he assures. Well he is thirsty but as Dan said it's hot as balls in here so it's no surprise.

            Dan shrugs as he plops the tray down on a table at his own station, "Then again I don't really have fully functioning sweat glands," he murmurs as if it was an afterthought.

            "You don't sweat?" Barry finds his mouth asking without his brain's permission.

            "I get a fine sheen of it sometimes. I more glow than anything," Dan says with an easy smile.

            Dan then tells him about the time when he was younger where he's pretty sure he almost died when he went to Hershey Park with his family. Since his sweat glands don't really work that well, he can't sweat to cool off like most people do. So instead his temperature rises and rises and it can get really dangerous for him if he overheats. He says he remembers everything whiting out since his temperature had spiked into the 'Oh God if this gets any higher he's going to actually die' range. He also jokingly mentions the fact that his dad was super apologetic about almost letting him die. "So what do you do to keep cool?" Barry asks after the story, hardly noticing that he was stirring the sauce.

            "I just drink a shit ton of water," Dan shrugs, wiping flour on the back of his black pants, leaving a pair of handprints. It makes Barry chuckle.

            "I'm trying to drink more water," he comments softly, pouring the sauce into a tub just like before.

            "Oh?" Dan asks, "How come?"

            Barry gives a noncommittal shrug, "I went a little crazy with soda while I was away at school."

            "You in college?" Dan asks, looking at Barry over his shoulder.

            Barry nods, "Yup, I'm gonna be a senior in the fall."

            Dan smiles, "Good for you!"

            Barry feels his ears heat up at the sound of genuine authenticity and interest from Dan's voice. It really sounds like Dan is proud and happy that he's going to college. "Thanks," he mumbles, absently wiping sauce off of his hand on the side of his apron.

            "Water either gives you the biggest boost of energy and is the greatest thing the world has ever created," Danny mentions, another smile gracing his face, "or it is like a homework assignment where you would rather walk in traffic than do it. There is no in-between."

            Barry laughs, his face splitting into a grin, "That's why I drink flavored water," he says.

            "You done with sauce, Barry?" Kat asks as she appear around the corner.

            Barry is snapped out of his smile and he nods, "Almost, I just need to pour this in the tub and stuff," he replies softly, and Kat smiles.

            "Awesome, could you help Danny finish sheet outs when you're done? Not that you're not doing a great job, Danny," she says, glancing at the other man who just gives a thumbs up.

            "No problem," Barry salutes.

 

            Barry ends up giving Dan angel wings on his back with flour, not at all soured by the fact that he actually had to reach a little to get them in the right place. Dan laughs at him and returns the favor before adjusting his hat and getting flour on that too. Arin is sitting in the back on his break, slowly munching on a bag of crazy bread while messing around on his phone. He sticks a breadstick in his mouth to hold it for a moment so he can both hands to type something out on his phone. "Who you talking to, Arin?" Barry asks.

            "Suzy," Arin absently replies through the breadstick still clenched in his teeth.

            Barry laughs, "How is she? She works at Dutch Bros now right?"

            Arin nods, finally taking a bite of the breadstick, "She's doin' good. She likes working there better than when she worked at Starbucks. Says people are nicer when they come through Dutch Bros too."

            Barry nods. He doesn't drink coffee, so he doesn't really know how people act in coffee shops, but he can imagine from what horror stories Suzy has told him. "Girlfriend?" Dan leans close to Barry to ask.

            Barry gives a short silent nod and Dan nods back in understanding. "Do you have work tomorrow, Barry?" Arin asks suddenly.

            "No, why?" Barry replies.

            "Wanna crash at mine and Suzy's place tonight?" Arin offers, "We can play video games and stuff."

            Barry chuckles, "You say that as if we don't do that on a regular basis."

            Arin just laughs back, "So are you in or not?"

            "Just let me text my mom and ask her," he says, stepping towards the walk-in fridge.

            Arin clicks his tongue at Barry, "Naughty naughty, Barry. Texting on store time!"

            Barry gives Arin a look over his shoulder, "Don't be callin' me black Mr. Pot," he fires back, slipping into the fridge and typing out a quick message to his Mom. He figures he should get some water while he's there too, so he does.

           

            It gets inexplicably busy literally the minute Barry goes on break, but Kat insists that the rest of them have the random crowd handled. The little pizza shop seems more alive once they finally have something to do other than clean and wander around trying to find something productive. Barry sits in the back with his own bag of crazy bread, and munches on it as he checks his phone. He has a text from his Mom. "Arin, my mom said it's ok," he calls to the other boy who is saucing and cheesing pizzas. Arin just gives him a thumbs up which makes Barry laugh. He turns back to his phone and munches on his bread as he mindlessly surfs the net for another nine minutes until his break is over. Anyone who really ever texts Barry is here anyway.

 

            Barry, Arin, and Danny are all off at 4:00, and Ross practically pouts as they all leave. "Don't leave me with them," he whispers furiously, pointing a thumb back at the teenagers behind him, "I might actually kill them."

            "If you do file for insanity or a crime of passion!" Arin simply says and laughs when Ross gives him the finger. "I gotta pick up Suzy from work do you wanna just follow?" He asks Barry as an afterthought.

            Barry nods as they walk towards their respective cars, parked next to one another again, but looks over his shoulder when he notices that Dan is standing in front of the store. He's leaning against the building and staring off into space with his hands buried into his pockets. Barry looks back at Arin and Arin makes eye contact with him for a moment before peeking at Dan. "Hey Dan, you wanna come?"

            Dan twitches, pulled out of his thoughts. He gives an easy smile and runs a hand through his unruly curls, "Hey man, you don't have to invite me over or anything, it's fine." Arin glances at Barry again but Barry only gulps, raising his eyebrows to implore Arin to try again. "C'mon man, it'll be fun! I've been meaning to catch up with you anyway," Arin says, walking over to Dan and casually throwing an arm over the taller man's shoulder. Danny laughs but it looks like he's about to refuse again so Barry opens his mouth before realizing he does.

            "If you can't stay the night I can just drive you home."

            Dan looks unsure again and he makes a face for a second before letting out another laugh, "If you insist, man," he shrugs.

            Arin smiles and pats Dan on the back twice before pulling away. As he passes Barry he gives the other boy a, 'I-am-the-best-fucking-friend-in-the-world-and-you-have-some-explaining-to-do-the-next-time-we're-alone' look to which Barry nods in reply. He looks at Dan who is kind of slouched awkwardly as if he wants to fold in on himself, but Barry gestures for him to follow. "C'mon, you can ride with me."

            Dan lets out a sharp breath and nods, slinging his bag over his shoulder and following Barry. Once they both slide into the car, Barry looks over his shoulder to wait for Arin to finish backing up. "You didn't have to do that you know."

            Barry's heart nearly leaps out of his chest. He keeps his eyes over his shoulder and he absently throws an arm over Dan's seat as he backs up. "Do what?" He asks, attempting to play it cool.

            Dan only sighs softly and looks out the window. Barry panics for a moment and he reaches to violently push the 'On' button on his stereo. He had forgotten what CD was in there, but when Panic! at the Disco starts to play throughout the car, Barry can almost feel the universe laughing at it's own pun. "Panic! at the Disco?" Dan asks without looking away from the window and it nearly makes Barry jump out of his skin again.

            Barry laughs nervously, "Driver chooses the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole."

            Dan finally turns to look at him and Barry can feel the stare even though he's keeping his eyes on Arin's car so he can follow. After a long moment, Dan finally speaks, "I don't know whether or not I should be more appalled by the fact that you just used that reference, or the fact that I know exactly what that reference if from."

            Barry lets out a relieved laugh, "Don't worry, I'll be sure not to tell anyone about your guilty pleasure," he says, once again using humor to deflect his anxiety.

            Dan only smiles, "Oh I'm never guilty about my pleasures, Barry," he says.

            Barry almost has to stop the car so that his heart will stop trying to break through his ribcage.

 

              They pick up Suzy from work and reach the apartment without incident, Barry parking next to Arin. He's been to Suzy's and Arin's apartment countless times before and as always the couple's cats greet them at the door. "Hi Mochi, hi Mimi," Barry says, reaching down to gently scratch behind the ears of both cats. Arin and Suzy's cats love him more than their owners and it makes Barry laugh because it was just one more thing Arin likes to lord over him all the time.

            The little munchkins abandon Barry to investigate the new tall thing that is Dan, and the man chuckles lightly but doesn't lean down to pet them. Barry wonders if Dan doesn't like cats and once again feels bad since he basically forced Dan to come over. "This is Mochi and Mimi," Barry says, and Dan just smiles.

            "You can set your stuff down anywhere, I don't care," Arin waves, wandering over to his room to probably change.

            "Hi, Arin is an idiot and forgot to introduce us, I'm Suzy," Suzy says, offering a handshake to Dan, who chuckles and reaches to shake it back.

            "I'm Dan," he says.

            She nods, "Oh yeah, Arin has told me about you!" Suzy nods, smiling.

            Dan raises his brows, "Nothing bad I hope?"

            Suzy's smile only widens, "Not too bad."

            Everyone laughs and Barry sets his bag down by the living room couch, smiling when he notices that Mimi is following him. "I'm sorry but there's nothing in my bag for you sweetheart," he says, sitting down and petting her behind the ear again.

            "So are you guys hungry or anything?" Suzy asks, "I can order out or Arin and I can make something?"

            Dan shrugs, "I can go for something to eat."

            Suzy wanders over to the fridge, "Ok, what sounds good?"

            "Anything but pizza." Both Dan and Barry look at one another when they speak in unison, which causes a chorus of laughs from all three to ring throughout the apartment.

            Arin returns from his room wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and his hair is out of the ponytail he keeps it in for work, "I feel like I've missed something."

            "Looks like we're eating anything but pizza," Suzy explains.

            Arin vigorously nods his head, "Please for the love of everything holy. _No_."

 

            They end up ordering Chinese food and Arin starts flipping through the channels, and stops on the SciFi channel, waiting a few moments to see what's on. It turns out to be Firefly, and all four of them watch in amusement at Captain Mal's antics. Barry has only seen Firefly all the way through once, and it was with Arin and Suzy.

            Barry had told them he had never seen Firefly before and they deemed it right to rectify that. So Barry was introduced to and watched all of Firefly and Serenity in the same day, and he didn't talk to either of them for almost a day due to being emotionally compromised and the fact that they had laughed at his reaction when it all ended.

 

           Once the episode ends and the food is devoured, Arin suggest they play video games. "What game?" Barry asks, and Arin gets a wicked smile on his face.

            "You up for a little Smash rematch?" He asks, and Barry laughs.

            "As far as I see it it's 55-53 Arin," Barry replies.

            "First to 100 wins is the ultimate victor Barry, I still have time to carve out my victory!" Arin exclaims.

            "Arin is still bitter about that?" Dan asks Suzy but she just laughs.

            "It started out that way, but it's gotten to a point where it's just something they do," Suzy explains, giving a playful roll of her eyes. Dan nods in understanding as he watches Arin boot up the game. He smiles when he notices that Barry picks Donkey Kong.

            Practically an hour later and 3 wins for each player later both Barry and Arin decide they should play a different game so that Suzy and Dan don’t get bored. "Oh I assure you it wasn't boring," Dan says with a chuckle, wiping a tear from his eye and clutching at his stomach, which hurts from laughing too much. Suzy is in a similar state, breathing out a sigh of relief.

            They decide to play a four player game next, and Arin slips in Mario Party 4. Barry chooses Donkey Kong and Arin just silently turns his head to glare at him for his choice. Barry gives Arin an innocent smile and it sends all four of them into giggle fits.

 

            "Arin why did you chose 30 turns?" Barry groans, his head lolls back on the back of the couch. They still had 10 turns left to go and it had been almost 2 hours since they started.

            "I didn't know it would take this long!" Arin groans back.

            Suzy laughs as she takes her turn, "That sounds like only something sore losers would say."

            "We're in it to win it, you guys just don't have the stamina!" Dan adds.

            Barry rolls his head to look at Dan and has to suppress a laugh. It seems like Mochi has decided that he likes Dan, and has shown his affection by practically sitting on Dan's hands. Dan doesn't seem to notice though, too wrapped up in taking his turn. It makes Barry smile. He's glad that Dan seems to be enjoying himself. Barry was worried Dan wouldn't since he kind of forced Dan to join in, but he's kind of happy that he did. Something about Dan doesn't sit right with him. He's really nice and good natured and jokes around and is generally a really cool guy, but sometimes there are moments where he seems like an entirely different person. Barry kind of wants to get to know that side of Dan too. The side that doesn't have a car and walks to and from work 90% of the time. The Dan that has quiet conversations on the phone about God knows what when no one else is listening. The Dan that doesn't really seem to have friends and if he does he doesn't talk about them. Something about Dan doesn't sit right with him, and he wants to know the reason. "Barry did you have a brain aneurysm? Because even if you did you're not getting out of the game." Arin's voice snaps Barry out of his thoughts and he jerks up, a small flush on his face.

            "Yeah, sorry I was just contemplating my life choices and how they lead me up to this point in my life," Barry jokes, once again using humor to deflect embarrassment.

 

            The game finally ends, and Arin throws down his controller in a fit of absolute rage when the bonus star awards send Barry into victory, "I WAS GOING TO WIN!" He screams, scaring Mochi off of his perch on Dan's lap.

            "Damn it Arin now my legs are cold," Dan jokes and Arin just whips around, pointing a finger at him and breathing heavily through his nose as if to say, 'Don't you even fucking start with me.'

            "Calm down Arin, it's not your fault Donkey Kong is invincible," Barry redirects Arin's attention.

            "Donkey Kong is a piece of shit that became a side character after this game! He's a _scrub_. A SCRUB I say!" Arin shouts, viciously turning off the Gamecube.

            Arin stomps into the kitchen and all three hear a, "Mochi no!" before a series of worrying thumps. Suzy jumps up and bolts into the kitchen without a word.

            Dan gives Barry a look and Barry explains, sitting up straight, "Mochi has a habit of getting under Arin's feet when he walks and it trips Arin up. This isn't the first time it's happened and it sure as hell won't be the last."

            Dan grins, "That little shit," he says almost fondly, glancing at the kitchen. He then glances at the watch on his left wrist and lets out what seems like a tired sigh. He runs a hand through his hair and there he is again; it's the Dan that Barry doesn't know about. "I should probably get going, I have work tomorrow," he says absently, but he makes no move to leave.

            Barry blinks but nods, "Yeah, like I said I can drive you home whenever."

            Dan glances back at the kitchen where both he and Barry can hear the sounds of Arin assuring Suzy that he and Mochi are ok. "I should be getting back, I have other stuff I gotta do." Dan confirms.

            Barry practically springs up, "Ok," he chirps and rummages in his backpack for a moment for his keys. Once he retrieves them, he sees that Dan is standing with his own bag slung lazily over one shoulder. Barry nods once before quickly running to the kitchen to tell Arin and Suzy. He pokes his head around the corner and almost laughs when he sees Arin leaning against the counter with an ice pack resting against his forehead. "You ok, Arin?" he asks.

            Arin only gives a thumbs up and Suzy answers for him, "Mochi tripped him up and he slammed his head against a cabinet. He's not bleeding but there's going to be a nasty bruise," she says, sparing Arin a slightly worried glance that makes Barry smile. She really does care about him a whole lot. He's always liked Suzy.

            "Ok, well I'm gonna drive Dan home and then I’ll be back!" Barry says.

            Suzy waves him off with a, "Drive safe," and goes back to tending to Arin's wounds.

            Barry and Dan exit the apartment in silence, and most of the ride back to Dan's apartment complex is relatively free of conversation. Even though music is playing through the stereo Barry still thinks that its one of the most silent and awkward car rides he's ever been in.

            They finally reach Dan's apartment complex, but Dan hesitates in getting out of the car. "You didn't have to have Arin invite me over," he says after a long moment, turning to look at Barry, who can feel his heart beginning to pound. "But I'm glad you did. I enjoyed myself more than I thought I would," Dan finishes and Barry lets out a mental sigh of relief.

            Barry nods, "Yeah? I'm glad."

            "Also for driving me home and stuff these past couple of times. You're a good guy Barry. I'll buy you coffee or something as a return favor."

            Barry half shrugs, "You don't need to do that. I don't like coffee anyways," he says, looking away from Dan as his heartbeat skyrockets again for no good damn reason.

            "How about an actual drink then?" Dan asks.

            "What like water?" Barry can hear himself but can't stop the stupid question from coming out of his mouth. He feels even worse when Dan raises a brow at him.

            "Like alcohol," Dan clarifies and it makes Barry feel so stupid for not connecting the dots.

            "I can't," Barry murmurs.

            Dan blinks, "Why?"

            "I'm not over 21," Barry just about squeaks out, and it feels like an excuse even though its legitimate.

            Dan lets out a sigh of what Barry can only guess is disbelief and he leans fully back in the passenger seat. Barry notes that he forgot to push the seat back and Dan's legs are still kind of squished. "When do you turn 21?" Dan asks carefully through another sigh, not looking at Barry.

            "Wednesday," Barry says. Oh yeah, he turns 21 in three days.

            "Well after three days from now, how about I take you for some drinks?" Dan asks, lolling his head to the side to look at Barry again.

            Barry nods before he knows what he's doing, "Yeah sure," he says. _Ever the people pleaser aren't you, Barry?_

            Dan nods and is silent for another long moment, "I should really get going," he says.

            "To get ready for the exciting career of making pizzas tomorrow?" Barry jokes, and Dan's face falls.

            "I don't work there tomorrow," Dan explains and reaches for the door.

            "You have two jobs?" Barry asks.

            Dan lets out a wry chuckle, "I have to pay for my apartment somehow," he replies, opening the door, "have a good night, Barry."

            "Good night, Dan," Barry tentatively says.

 

            Barry almost outright panics when Dan freezes in his actions of getting the hell out of his car. Dan turns back to look at him, "That's the first time you've ever said my name, Barry," he says.

            Barry wracks his brain for a moment? Really? That can't be true. "Really?" he asks.

            Dan lets out a laugh through his nose as if he can't believe what just happened before moving to get out of the car again. "Goodnight Barry."

            Barry brain finally catches up and he says, "Goodnight Dan," to an empty passenger seat. He groans and flops his head down on the steering wheel, actually surprised that his horn doesn't go off. The universe gives him that at least. Why is he so fucking awkward? Why does talking to Dan sometimes feel like he's known the man for years and other times it feels like he's trying to deliver a speech to thousands of people when he hasn't prepared one?

            And even though he's embarrassed he still waits until he can't see Dan anymore.

 

 

 

 


	4. Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I have never actually been to Six Flags, but I've tried to do extensive research on it! Any mistakes are because of that.  
> Also unbeta'd, I just wanted to get this out to you guys as soon as it was finished. I read it over a couple of times but any mistakes are my own.

     No later than three seconds after Barry pulls into his garage Tuesday after work, Arin texts him.

     _From: Arin_

_Dude please for the love of all video games tell me that you're not busy tomorrow._

     Barry idly wanders into the house while answering Arin, saying 'Hi' to his Mom who is making dinner.

     _To: Arin_

_No, why?_

Barry changes out of his uniform and wanders back into the kitchen when his phone buzzes again.

     _From: Arin_

_You. Me. Suzy. Six Flags. We're taking you for your birthday._

     Barry stops mid walk and nearly drops his phone. Is Arin even serious?! "What's the matter, Honey?" Barry's mom asks.

     Barry just looks up at her,  smile forming on his face, "Arin and Suzy want to take me to Six Flags for my birthday tomorrow," he says, looking back down at his phone just to make sure he read the text message right.

     His mom looks surprised too, "How generous of them!"

     Barry snaps his head up to look at his mom, "You mean I can go?"

     She laughs, "Of course you can, dear, it's your birthday! You don't have to stay with your family on your 21st birthday."

     Barry smiles so wide it almost hurts, and he hugs his mom, "I can't believe it, I wonder how long they've been planning this?!"

     "They've probably had it planned out for a while, they're both good friends, sweetie," his mom says with smile of her own, looking Barry in the eye.

    

     It almost takes Barry aback for a moment. His mom is right; he really does have good friends.

 

     Midnight bombards him with texts and social media messages all wishing him a happy birthday. Although he doubts some of the people on Facebook even remember how old he is, it still feels nice to be recognized. Arin's text message has the most capital letters and the most exclamation points, and Suzy's is the most heartwarming. She also texts him information about tomorrow that Arin neglected to tell him. Apparently they're also going to Hurricane Harbor, so he needs to remember to bring his swimsuit and enough sunscreen to provide a small army.

     Around 2:00 am, while Barry is editing part of his summer college project, his phone buzzes. Barry makes a face. Arin and Suzy were probably already asleep by now, or thought he was asleep, so who could be texting him? He glances at his phone and sees it's from a number he doesn't know.

     _From: +19497884567_

_Happy Birthday, Barry_

     Ok that's a little disconcerting. He's about to answer back when another text comes from the same number.

     _From: +19497884567_

_It's Dan._

    

     Barry blinks; he doesn't remember giving Dan his phone number. He adds the number to his contacts and texts back.

     _To: Dan_

_Thanks._

It takes longer for Dan to answer back than it ever does when he's texting Arin, so Barry reaches for his phone to make sure he actually sent the message. The phone vibrates as soon as he unlocks it and he almost drops his phone.

     _From: Dan_

_Sorry I texted so late. I wanted to text you earlier but I got caught up in some shit._

     Barry laughs, and abandons his project in favor of texting Dan. Now that he thinks about it he probably should be going to bed soon if he's going to an amusement park in the morning, later today….whatever.

     _To: Dan_

_Its ok, I was awake anyways._

He's used to being up until ungodly hours of the night and waking up mere hours before a long day. College tends to do that to a person.

     _From: Dan_

_No shit? Well, just wanted to say Happy Birthday and all._

     Barry smiles and laughs again, reaching over to save his project and close his laptop before answering Dan.

     _To: Dan_

_Thanks, Dan. Goodnight._

He thinks for a second, and sends Dan another text.

     _To: Dan_

_Speaking of which where did you get my number from?_

Barry goes to turn off his light and undo his covers, and by the time he gets laid down and settled, Dan has texted him back.

     _From: Dan_

_I asked Arin for it, I hope that’s ok._

_To: Dan_

_That's fine, I don't mind. Especially since it was Birthday Wishes._

_From: Dan_

_We're still on for drinks, right Mr. 21-year-old?_

_To: Dan_

_Sure, sounds good._

_From: Dan_

_Yeah, sounds great. Night, Barry_

_To: Dan_

_Night, Dan._

     Barry wakes up at 7:00 am not particularly bright eyed and bushy tailed, but on his way. He wanders into his kitchen, still clad in his pajamas and rubbing one of his eyes that just won't open for the love of God. His Dad has already left for work at this point, and his Mom isn't awake yet. He sees though, that his Mom has decorated the living room and the kitchen. A banner that says, "Happy Birthday," is attached to the island, and there is a bouquet of balloons on the kitchen table. It's something that his Mom has done for as long as he could remember. He smiles and wanders to the pantry. Suzy suggested that he should eat breakfast before they leave, and even though Barry has gotten into the habit of not doing so in college, he pours himself a bowl of cereal.

     His eyes are still droopy as he plops down at his table with his Captain Crunch, and he rests his head in one of his hands and continues to blink. Wake up; come on you can do it. You have to be ready in an hour. He starts to eat and doesn't even turn on the TV.

     With his cereal eaten Barry wanders back towards his room and starts to dress, still kind of out of it. He really should not have stayed up so late. He hopes he gains more energy as the day goes by so he's not boring when they're at the amusement park. After deliberating whether or not he wants to wear shorts or pants, Barry slips his favorite pair of jeans on. They have holes in the knees that are getting so big that his Mom tells him he should probably throw them out, but they're his favorite, and fit him the best. He fishes his belt out of his work pants and slips in through, clicking his tongue when he remembers that one of his belt loops in the back is ripped. Just another hole to add to the jeans.  He stuffs a towel and his trunks into his backpack, zips it up and throws it over his shoulder as he wanders back into the kitchen. His family keeps the Band-Aids and sunscreen in a cabinet above the microwave, and Barry is just tall enough to reach the sunscreen without having to get on a chair. He grabs the SPF50 to be safe and stuffs it in his backpack with the rest of his things. "Happy Birthday, sweetie!" His Mom's voice nearly makes him jump out of his skin and he laughs it off, running a hand through his hair and turning to her.

     "Thanks Mom, for everything." He gestures to the decorations around him, and his mother gives him a big hug.

     "My little baby, 21 years old," she says with a fond smile.

     Barry half heartedly rolls his eyes and hugs his mom back, "It's not the end of the world, Mom."

     She sighs, "Oh yes it is it's definitely over for me. You're a grown man and I'm just your mean _old_ mother."

     Barry rolls his eyes again, this time with a smile, "You're not _that_ old, Mom," he says, pulling back and giving her a smile.

     She raises a brow at him, "Barry Nathan Kramer did you just insinuate that I was _old_? You're not allowed to do that only I'm allowed to do that. One more wrong step and you'll be _dead_ to me!" She waggles a finger at him and he bursts out laughing.

     Barry goes in for another hug and squeezes his mom tight, "I love you, Mom. Thanks again."

     "I love you too, dear." They both stand there a moment, until Barry's mom pats him on the back. "Alright sweetie, I'll let you be so you can keep getting ready. No need for your _old_ mother to keep you crazy kids waiting."

     "You're not old, Mom," Barry says with a smile.

     His Mom smiles back and points a finger at him, "Now _that's_ the right answer."

    

     The doorbell rings right as the clock hits 8:00 and Barry trots towards the door. He gasps when he opens it and is suddenly assaulted with a spine crushing hug from Arin. " _HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAR_!" He shouts, and Barry blinks at the onslaught to his eardrums.

     Once Arin lets him go Barry sticks a finger in his ear, trying to get the ringing to stop. Suzy greets him with a less ear splittingly loud Happy Birthday wish, giving him an also less spine cracking hug. A third figure comes through the door, more sheepish than the others, and Barry smiles. "I didn't know you were coming, Ross."

     "I didn't invite myself!" Ross blurts and Barry just laughs.

     "If you're paying for your own ticket you just so happen to be a friend who just so happens to be going to an amusement park the same time we are," Arin replies sagely with a nod. Barry notices the bruise on his forehead has gotten better, but Arin is still covering most of it up with his hair. Arin had told Barry the teenagers who work the night shifts wouldn't let it go when he told them he tripped over his cat and slammed his head against a cabinet. Someone had apparently made a joke about his girlfriend hitting him, but Ross had swooped in and shut that shit down so fast the teenagers' heads spun. Barry was impressed, but then again he didn't think there was a human being on planet Earth that hated those teenagers more than Ross.

     "I guess so," Ross shrugs, still looking embarrassed, like he's self imposed himself into their little adventure today.

     "We've seen a Marvel movie together and had an extensive conversation about superheroes, I consider you a practical brother," Barry smiles and puts a reassuring hand on Ross's shoulder.

     Ross glances at Barry and smiles with teeth, "Thanks, Barry."

     "Now that your friendship pact has been made are we ready to get this show in the road?" Arin asks, rubbing his hands together with a smile.

     "Let me go tell my Mom I'm leaving," Barry says, heading to his mom's room.

     "Apologize to her for us for kidnapping her baby boy on the day he becomes a man!" Arin calls after him.

 

     "Shit I forgot sunscreen," Ross mumbles as he rifles through his backpack, chewing on his lip.

     "I have some," both Barry and Suzy say at the same time, which sends the car into a fit of giggles as Arin merges onto the freeway.

     The car ride is uneventful, except for Ross arguing with Arin that the 'no more singing if you fuck up the lyrics' rule starts over when a new song starts. "Yeah Ross, but you keep messing up on _every_ song!" Arin snaps.

     "You never specified that it _didn't_ start over every song so I just assumed!" Ross exclaims, "And you can't change the rules once you start the car!"

     "Then how about you sing a little less horribly, Ross?" Arin replies, his tone overly sweet.

     "But then I wouldn't get to annoy you!" Ross smiles.

     "Oh I'm sure you'd find a way, Ross," Arin grumbles.

 

     The car becomes less melancholy once the park comes into view. They've made it just in time to be a little early for the park to open. Since it's a Wednesday, the parking lot is not particularly busy, especially for it being summertime and Southern California. "Ok, so here's the plan, we go on all of the big roller coasters first, working from the most popular rides back," Arin says, pointing at the towering structures. "If we get to those lines first we won't have to wait as long and can get to the less popular rides last."

     "You'd had this all planned out for a while haven't you?" Barry asks with a chuckle as they meander towards the ticket counters.

     They make it through the gate just fine, Suzy handing three tickets to the woman manning the station. Ross fishes his out of his back pocket and hands the wrinkled ticket to her with an embarrassed smile on his face. The woman gives Ross a patient smile as she smoothes out the ticket and inspects it. Once they all finally make it through the gates, Suzy suggests that they put on some sunscreen before they get too excited about the park to forget. It seems like Ross is already at that point, rocking back and forth on his heels as they wait for the actual park to open. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Barry says, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, "I don't want to find out the hard way that I had to go to the bathroom while on the rollercoaster."

     The others agree, there's still a few more minutes before the park actually opens. There is a sizable crowd since it’s the summer and all, but there are no one high school age around since schools aren't out just yet. That's the trade off for College. You have to go back a month early but you get out a month early. Barry would rather be out early. Arin takes charge and starts leading them to their first attraction, which looks to be like X2. Barry finds himself swallowing and clutching the strap of his backpack a little harder at the sight of it. Don't get him wrong he loves roller coasters, but he wasn't expecting to go one of the most extreme rides in the park as their first ride. They walk through the line and Barry is actually surprised by how little people are actually there. They make it to the beginning of the line in no time at all. "You want to sit with me, Barry?" Ross asks, bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement.

     Barry gulps again and he chuckles nervously, "Sure," his voice cracks and Ross laughs.

     "No need to be afraid Barry! We're only gonna to be going 75 miles an hour 200 ft in the air and then go through pillars of fire!" he says, giving a thumbs up.

     Barry gives Ross a half hearted glare. His heart begins to pound harder and harder as they draw ever closer to being in front of the line. As they step into the seats and slowly strap themselves in, Barry's heart is in his throat and he can't talk. He's knows he's going to be fine, but there's always something about roller coasters that makes him feel like he's going to die. Afterwards he'll probably feel so invigorated that he'll want to go again, but right now he's fairly certain that this is where he's going to die. Something is going to go catastrophically wrong and he's going to fly out of the seat to his death. He clutches the restraints a little tighter a that thought. Damn his overactive imagination. He almost voices his desperate need to get the fuck off, but as soon as he opens his mouth the ride begins its ascent.

     Ross looks over at him and he smiles. "No turning back now, Barry."

     Barry found his voice and let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah," he said, studiously not looking down. He knew if all else fails he could just close his eyes and cling onto the safety harness for dear life.

     It takes far longer than is comfortable for the ride to reach the top. Two hundred feet in the air and Barry can feel his heart pounding in his throat. His mouth is dry and he probably couldn't grip the harness any tighter if possible. Ross leans forward without a care so he can look at Barry. "You gonna be ok, man?" He shouts even though he doesn’t need to.

     Barry gulps and opens his mouth to speak when the universe decides that it’s a perfect time for the ride to start, and the air rushes out of Barry's lungs as they speed through the track. While other riders are screaming, some with glee some with fear, Barry physically cannot make any noise and they flip and spin around. Around one of the loops the ride changes it's mind and becomes a sheer drop and Barry's stomach goes from his throat to dropping into the lowest part of his intestines like a rock. He's panting and Ross is whooping and hollering like he's having the best time of his life.

    As they approach the fire at the end of the ride, Barry shuts his eyes, but feels the heat as they fling by. They finally come to a stop and Barry opens his eyes as the harness disengages. He pulls his hands off and they're stiff from how hard he was holding it. He's shaking and he lets out a breath as the gang gets out of the ride and slowly walks to the exit. Without a word, Barry grabs his backpack and slips it over his shoulder. Ross bounds up to him and throws an arm around him and laughs. "That was so fucking cooooool~" he says, until he notices how pale Barry looks. "You ok man?"

     Barry gulps around his dry throat and chuckles nervously. "I'm glad I didn't eat anything before hand that's all I'm saying," he mumbled.

     "We should see out picture!" Suzy announces as they walk by the booth.

     Ross sprints over, squinting and scrutinizing the screens until he points and starts cracking up. Barry and the others peer at the screen and Barry feels a laugh curling up in his stomach too. In the picture, Ross is laughing so hard that his face is red; Suzy is using one hand to clutch onto Arin, who is screaming his head off. Suzy is smiling and her hair is whipping around so much you can hardly see her face. Barry face is almost solemn, white as paper as he clutches the harness for dear life. "You look like you're contemplating death," Arin jokes, turning to look at Barry.

     He laughs. "I probably was at some point," he agrees.

     "I'm getting one," Suzy says and gets in line. She returns and shows the rest of them so they can see it close up and it causes a fit of laughter all over again.

     Barry's stomach is no longer in his throat and his heart is still beating pretty hard, but he thinks it's more from adrenaline than anything.

     That is until Arin points to Ninja for the next ride.

 

     They pass the Cold Stone Creamery after they ride on Ninja and Apocalypse. Barry liked Apocalypse better. It had a better atmosphere and his feet weren't dangling and in danger of somehow getting cut or ripped off. He knew there was a slim to none chance that anything could happen, but still the thought of his feet free dangling as they spun and flipped around send Barry into the same state as X2, pale, quiet, and gripping the overhead harness as if it was his only lifeline.

     Apocalypse had-as its name suggested-the post apocalyptic feel too it and Barry is all about that shit. The walk in past the security checkpoint and the monitors explaining the assignment was one of his favorite parts. He really likes rides that had a touch of atmosphere and had a story instead of just high speed and thrills alone.

    "Wanna get ice cream Barry?" Arin asks, pulling Barry out of his thoughts.

    Barry blinks and stops, "Um yeah if you guys want to."

    Arin puts a hand on his shoulder. "You look like you need it, you're looking pretty pale right now dude."

    Barry chuckled awkwardly and chews on his lip. "I think we're done with the high intensity rides for today," Suzy says as they get in line.

    Barry lets out a soft sigh of relief at the same time Ross lets out an, "Awwww~" of disappointment.

    

     Barry gets two scoops of peanut butter chocolate ice cream, but when he reaches for his wallet Arin stops him with a smile. "It's your birthday," is the only explanation, and Barry blushes in embarrassment as he grabs his ice cream and starts licking at the two scoops.

     Suzy makes them put on a second coating of sunscreen once they're done with their ice cream, and Barry laughs at how Ross probably got as much ice cream on his face and hands that he got in his body.

     "Hey, we should go on Tidal Wave next!" Arin points as Suzy slips the sunscreen back into his backpack.

     Tidal Wave is a huge flume ride with only one insanely high drop and Barry figures he can handle at least that after the last three rides they went on. Plus it's getting kind of unbearably hot out as the morning shifts into afternoon. The idea of getting splashed doesn't seem like that bad of an idea.

     The line is longer than they expect but it's worth it when they all get to sit at the very front of the ride together. Barry and Ross are sitting on the outsides while Arin and Suzy are squished together in the middle. Barry is glad they were allowed to leave their bags when they hear the warning that they will in fact be getting wet.

     The lazy but fast flume right approaching the tall drop is nice and Barry finds himself smiling and dipping his hand easily into the water. As they start to tick up the hill, Barry sees that there's a ride operator sitting bored. Ross smiles and as they reach a top, he offers a hand to the operator who smiles and returns the hi-five. "You guys ready?" Is all he has time to say before they go careening down the fifty foot drop. All four of them raise their hands up, laughing breathlessly as they reach the bottom of the hill. They all laugh loudly as they catch previous riders walking across the bridge over the drop and absolutely soak them, along with themselves. Barry immediately feels like a drowned rat, but the chlorinated water feels good on his heated skin.

     Their shoes squish and squeak as they exit the ride, all still in a fit of giggles. "They should change the warning to, 'You will not only get wet, but every fiber of your being will be soaked. I hope you're not planning on walking around or going on anymore rides today. Enjoy the chafing,'" Arin says as he tries to ring out his hair.

     They pass some more rides, some Barry has seen at the county fair before. They approach one of Barry's favorite kind; the swinging pirate ships. He always enjoyed sitting in the back and letting the swinging tickle his stomach. He remembers once when he and Arin had ridden one at the county fair and the safety bar actually moved mid-ride and made them scream their heads off. "We should go on Buccaneer!" Ross points as if reading Barry's thoughts.

     There's a screaming match that goes on between both sides of the boat, and Barry doesn't even care that Ross is screaming at the top of his lungs right in his ear because Barry's doing the exact same thing in between bouts of uncontrollable laughter as they get closer and closer to becoming vertical. Barry feels a little bad that they left wet spots on the seats but the ride did actually dry them a bit.

 

     "This is the last one, I promise! I just really wanna go on Goliath!" Ross pleads, desperate to go on the thrill ride.

     Barry figures that this one can't be as bad as it looks as they get strapped in, but he was sure as hell wrong. The first drop was even worse than the first drop of X2 and Barry closes his eyes as they plunge into the underground tunnel, the terrified part of his brain telling him to duck otherwise he's gonna lose his head.

       They shoot over the next hill and Barry feel's himself almost lift out of the seat and if he didn't have a white knuckle grip on the safety bar before he sure as hell does now. The pattern repeats a couple more times and Barry is glad once again that his stomach isn't full because he doesn't think he could take it.

     The second part of the ride is somehow worse when the twisting and turning at such a high velocity rattles Barry's brain. He has half a mind to look at Ross, who has a perma-grin on his face. As they fling into the last helix part of the ride, Barry feels the entire weight of the world is on his shoulders and by the time they pull back into the station, Barry is panting for dear life and more than a little disoriented.

     "That is the last fucking time I let you suggest a ride," Arin grumbles at Ross as they exit. "I swear to God I almost threw up."

     Ross is laughing it up as Arin glares at him, obviously not concerned at all by Arin's rage. As they meander around the park some more Barry regains normal feeling in his legs. He's far dryer than he was before when they started Goliath, so there's that.

     Circus music grabs their attention as they pass a huge carousel and Barry is reminded of the carousel he used to go on in Disneyland. "Oh, a carousel!" Suzy exclaims. "You guys want to stop yelling long enough to go in it?"

     "We can go on it but I cannot guarantee I will stop screaming at Ross for being a _fucking idiot_." Arin grumbles but follows Suzy anyway.

     "Sticks and stones may break my bones but whips and chains excite me," Ross sings, getting up close against Arin. "So tie me up and throw me down and show you how you like me."

     Suzy laughs as Arin full body shudders before whipping around to glare at Ross. He opens his mouth to scream at Ross but Suzy only takes him by the arm and leads him into the line. Ross starts laughing so hard he clutches at his stomach.

     Arin and Suzy pick the two dragons next to one another, and Barry picks what he can only assume is a pegacorn. Ross chooses the camel behind Barry. The ride goes as smoothly as one can imagine, even though parents and children alike are staring at them like they're idiots. Ross bids the camel on as if he's in a race, and Arin and Suzy hold hands easily as the ride undulates up and down.

 

     They stop by the snack shack after the ride is over and they collectively get soft pretzels since all they've had to eat is ice cream.

 

 

     Hurricane Harbor is more crowded in the middle of the day since it really starts heating up, and even though it's hot as hell Barry still keeps a shirt on. He'd rather not get burned to hell and back thank you very much. On the Lost Temple Rapids where they all pile into a raft, Ross sends them going backwards almost around every twist and turn, laughing triumphantly when Arin gets his head soaked more often than not. At Lightning falls they all decide to race one another, choosing different slides to go down. Ross ends up losing but he claims that's just because he spent so much time flipping around the slide. Also it's Barry's birthday and it wouldn't be right to not let him win. Arin just shoves him into the pool at the end of the slides and calls him a sore loser.

     The River Cruise is nice and Arin and Suzy grab a raft to ride with one another while Ross dives and swims around like a dolphin. Arin more than once pushes Ross's head into the water when the lifeguards aren't looking his way. They pass by a Tiki Bar and Arin get's a wicked smile on his face. "Hey Barry wanna get a drink? You're old enough now!"

     Barry shrugs. Why not? They abandon their rafts and sit down at the bar. "IDs?" The lady asks.

     Barry and the rest of them fish their licenses out of their shorts and hand them over. The woman pauses at Barry's but then smiles. "Happy Birthday! What can I get for you?"

     He ends up getting a strawberry margarita and the first sip is actually really good. There's a giddy feeling in his stomach as they grab their rafts again and continue down the river. "How's it taste, Barry?" Suzy asks.

     "It's good, I can hardly taste the alcohol," Barry says before taking another sip. He splutters and coughs, the sharp taste of alcohol burning his tongue. So much for that.

     "Did you just get a mouthful of tequila?" Arin asks, casually stirring his own drink with a straw.

     Barry nods and does the same and the next time he takes a drink it's not so mind numbingly sharp. The idea that he's _allowed_ to drink in public is a really funny feeling and he half expects to get in trouble but it never comes and he has a pleasant fuzzy feeling in his stomach by the time he's done with the drink.

     They rest in the river for a while, but by the time they get back to the beginning, Ross is getting antsy. "I want a race rematch!" He says, pointing at the Bamboo Racer.

     "Oh you're on." Arin practically chases Ross out of the water while Suzy laughs behind him.

 

     Suzy ends up winning all three times they ride the ride and both Ross and Arin try not to look sour about it. Ross came in second two out of the three times, and he has no qualms about giving Arin shit about it.

     The last ride they all ride is Tornado, and Barry breaths in a mouthful of tangy chlorine water when the spiral part of the ride sends him shooting into the end pool at a bad angle. He comes out coughing and practically everyone asks him if he's alright and he just laughs and gives a thumbs up as he sloshes out of the water.

 

     As five o'clock rolls around, the four of them collectively decide they should sit down and actually eat something, and they decide on the Waterfront restaurant. As they enter, Barry hefts his backpack further on his shoulder, "I'm gonna go change, I don’t wanna be damp while I'm eating."

     The other three nod, and he actually manages to ask one of the nice host ladies which way the bathroom is without wanting to set himself on fire. He changes quickly and wraps his damp swimming clothes in his damp towel and slips the damp wad into his backpack. When he exits, he panics a moment when he doesn't see Arin, Suzy, or Ross sitting anywhere in sight in the restaurant. Barry glances at hostess with a nervous smile, "Do you know-?" He asks, and she smiles.

     "They're this way," she says with a smile, turning to lead him towards a secluded area of the restaurant. When the three come into view Barry breathes a silent sigh of relief and the grip on his backpack strap loosens.

     He slips into the booth next to Arin and picks up a menu, scanning it for pictures of what looks good. He's never eaten at Waterfront before, and if the pattern remains the same, it means Arin is going to be paying for him. Every time Barry has tried to pull out his wallet to pay for something, Arin tells him to put it away.

     Barry decides to get a burger and a salad instead of fries, and a water. He's proud of himself. Then again he did have ice cream earlier, but he hasn't had any soda today, and considering he's in a theme park he counts it as a win.

     The meal is pretty uneventful, small talk which mostly involves Barry and Ross asking each other questions about one other. Ross reveals he has a girlfriend, who coincidently works with Suzy at Dutch Bros, which makes the entire table laugh. Barry is also interested that Ross is actually from Australia, but both of his parents are from Dublin. Barry almost doesn't believe him for a moment since Ross doesn't have an accent. Ross jokes about how people back in Perth used to joke about him being adopted.

      The entire rest of the dinner, Barry listens carefully to Ross, and every once in a while there's a word that has just a tinge of an accent, and Barry smiles over his water. The food is delicious, and even though Barry is still kind of damp and he smells like chlorine, he is genuinely content. He's had so much fucking fun today. He's got to hang out with two of his best friends and he's pretty sure he's made a third friend in Ross, which is also really nice. At one point a waitress walks by and asks how the food taste just as Barry is chewing a mouthful of burger. He covers his mouth and tries to swallow and talk at the same time, which makes the waitress laugh pleasantly. "It's good," he assures after he swallows, his face flushed. He avoids her gaze as the others laugh good naturedly at him. This always happens to him. He gets through the meal without another incident, and a few minutes after their waitress takes their plates away, another voice comes from around the corner.

     "We heard that it's someone's twenty first birthday today!"

     Barry turns wide eyes to his friends. "You didn't," he says as a group of servers and hostesses gather around their small booth. Barry covers his mouth in a gasp as the servers bring out a molten chocolate brownie with ice cream dripping off of it. The three others at the table smile wide at him. Barry almost feels like crying as the servers begin to enthusiastically sing 'Happy Birthday'. It catches the attention of the rest of the restaurant, and Barry resists the urge to cover his whole face. He's so embarrassed but also so touched that his friends would do such a thing for him. They must have told the servers while he was getting changed in the bathroom. Once the song is over, the entire restaurant applauds. Barry still feels like he's going to cry he's so happy; this has definitely become the best day of his life up until this point. He offers the huge brownie to the others and they all eat some of it together. Once it's finished and the check comes, Arin doesn't even let Barry look at it before slipping his debit card into the sleeve.

     Barry is exhausted from the long day and pleasantly full. As the four of them exit the park and slip back into Arin's car, Suzy pulls something out from under her seat. "One more thing, Barry," she says, and Barry almost can't take it.

     "Even after paying for everything you still got me a gift? I'll never be able to repay this," Barry cheeks flush again as he takes the small package. It's wrapped in red wrapping paper with blue ribbon that's been curled nicely. From what Barry knows of Arin and his wrapping skills, it's obviously Suzy's doing.

     "You only turn twenty one once, dude." That's been Arin's explanation all day long, and he's not about to stop now.

     "Go on!" Ross is practically bouncing in his seat next to Barry.

     Barry carefully unwraps the package and he immediately knows what it is. Its 'The Hobbit' blu-ray combo pack he'd been eyeing in the store about a month ago. He didn't buy it since he was starting to save money for school, and he knew if he waited he'd be able to get the blu-ray for cheaper. "You guys are the best," his cheeks hurt from smiling so much today.

     Arin turns onto the freeway just as the sun starts to dip low over the horizon. Barry's eyes slip close from exhaustion, but what really makes him fall asleep is the sounds of his friends singing silly pop songs on the radio. 'The Hobbit' is held tightly to his side. As Barry slips into unconsciousness, he thinks that there's nothing that could have made this day any better.

 

 

     Except if maybe Dan had been there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter literally kicked my ass for the longest time but it's finally done! Sorry for such a long wait but it's over 6,000 words! It's kind of a filler chapter but I really wanted to write about them hanging out together.


	5. Tequila!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning, there is vomiting in this chapter. It's not deeply detailed but it is there.  
> This is unbetad, so all mistakes are my own. I just wanted to get it out to you all!

     Two weeks after Barry's 21st Birthday, Dan finally makes good on his promise to take Barry out for drinks. They've been texting on and off outside of work-nothing worth mentioning-simple pleasantries and on and off conversation of people becoming friends. At work they continue to talk, and even though Barry begins to learn more and more about Dan, like how he has a roommate named Brian who works for a super important company but still enjoys dick jokes, Barry still notices that Dan keeps some things about him a secret. Barry knows that Dan works in advertising, but he doesn't know exactly _where_ he works. He knows that Dan has a healthy enjoyment of most kinds of music, but he doesn't know why Dan doesn't sing at work like he did that one time in Barry's car. There are still times when Barry feels like he doesn't know Dan at all. There still feels like there is this front that Dan puts up. He's a different person when he's around Barry or Arin and Barry can see that. He sees these little moments when Dan is different, almost like he's holding back. A Dan that looks far older than his love of dick jokes would suggest. Now that he thinks about it, Barry doesn't even know how old Dan is. He thought about asking the other man but something about it made him feel awkward. Sure Dan had asked him how old _he_ was, but this was totally different.

     Barry wanders into his kitchen, still looking at his phone. Dan had told him they could walk to the bars since his apartment wasn't too far from downtown. Dan had also texted him to 'wear bar clothes'. Barry doesn't have the nerve to tell Dan he has no idea what that means. Bar clothes? So like, a t-shirt? Jeans? He has no idea, so he texts the only one he can think to text at a time like this.

    

_To:Suzy_

_What does 'bar clothes' mean?_

 

     Never claim he wasn't a guy who didn't get straight to the point.

 

     _From: Suzy_

_Ooooh, are you going to a bar, tonight????_

     Barry rolls his eyes but answers.

     _To: Suzy_

_Yes, with Dan, answer the damn question._

_From: Suzy_

_Well it really depends on what bar you're going to, and of course how you wanna look. What were you thinking of wearing?_

_To: Suzy_

_T-shirt and jeans?_

Suzy doesn't answer for about ten minutes and Barry is about to text her again when she responds with.

     _From: Suzy_

_I'm on my way there, you need more help than I thought._

     Barry's tidies up his room slightly before Suzy comes over, and his Mom steps out on errands mere minutes before Suzy gets there. Barry lets her in and gestures towards his room, where he follows her without a word. Once in his room Suzy makes a beeline for the closet while Barry sits on his bed, awaiting her outfit decisions to try on. After a few minutes of searching Suzy scoffs, "Barry you are such a boy."

     He blinks, "Well yeah…" he trails off and Suzy laughs.

     "I mean all you have is t-shirts and like ninety percent of them are black."

     "You have no idea how hard it is to find the specific shirt I'm looking for," Barry jokes, and it makes Suzy laugh again.

     "Well you shouldn't wear anything white, in case you spill or puke on yourself," Suzy mumbles as she goes through his shirts a second time. "Speaking of which if you're planning to eat beforehand-which I suggest-don't eat too much and don't drink milk with it."

     Barry stops fiddling with a loose strand on the knee of his pants and looks up. "Why?"

     Suzy turns and gives him a pointed look. "The alcohol will curdle the milk in your stomach and there's a good chance it'll make you throw up." She turns back to skimming.

     Barry subconsciously clutches at his stomach. The last thing he wants to do tonight is get drunk enough to throw up, but he has no idea how he's going to react to the alcohol. It's not like he's never had alcohol before in his life, but he's never had enough at once to actually get drunk. It never really interested him to drink that much, even now that he's of age. Dan seemed really into getting him drinks though, and he didn't want to refuse. Not Dan who was nice enough to offer him to stay over at his apartment if they get too drunk. Barry fiddles at the stray fringe at his holey knee again, refusing to think about drinking so much he's going to throw up. "Thanks for the warning," he says.

     After another few minutes of skimming, Suzy pulls out his Black Sabbath t-shirt and a grey thermal and sets them down next to him. "I think these will be fine. I know it's the summer but you guys are gonna be out late and I don't want you getting cold or anything."

     Barry smiles. Suzy always thinks of everything. "What pants should I wear with these?"

     "You have skinny jeans, right?" Suzy asks. Barry nods and she smiles, "Wear denim ones and some sneakers and you should be fine."

 

     Suzy makes him promise to take a picture of his outfit and send it to her once he's done showering and getting ready. He debates whether or not to shave and decides to leave it, and it doesn't dawn on him until he's fiddling with his hair more than necessary that this feels eerily like he's getting ready for a date. The idea makes him flush as he pushes up his shirt sleeves. After slipping on his sneakers he goes to his parent's bathroom where there's a full length mirror so he can take the picture to send to Suzy. It just looks like a normal outfit and he doesn't understand why this looks better than anything else he could have worn, but he supposes it's fine. He feels a little vain when he takes about five pictures of himself until he gets one that looks good enough to send to Suzy.

     _To: Suzy_

     _Look good?_

Barry flushes when Suzy texts back.

     _From: Suzy_

     _Go get 'em, killer.'_

Barry texts his Mom, asking him if it's alright if his friend Mark takes him out to celebrate his birthday and if he can spend the night. It's not that he wants to lie, but he knows exactly what his mother will say if he wants to hang out with someone she's never met before and spend the night at his apartment. She's protective of him that way. He's close to his mother, but she doesn't need to know every single thing that goes on in his life. Besides, what child doesn’t lie to their parents every once in a while? He tells himself this as he waits for her to text back.

     _From: Mom_

     _Of course dear. I know you're just being kind and you want me to know where you're going but you're an adult now. You're 21 years old, dear, you don't have to ask. Just tell me where you're going and when you'll be back. Have fun and say hi to Mark will you? You have everything you need?_

Barry feels a stone of guilt settle in his stomach as he answers back that he does in fact have everything. He tosses his backpack in the passenger's seat of his car and carefully pulls out of the driveway, allowing himself a small smile when he realizes the last CD he was listening to is Panic! at the Disco.

     He makes it to Danny's apartment complex without having to check for directions and Barry is proud of himself. He walks up to the building and remembers what Dan told him. _'Up the stairs, apartment 207. It's at the end of the hall.'_

He knows he's at the right door but he's afraid to knock. He goes over the instructions in his head three more times and any possible anecdotes that he can think of just in case he _does_ have the wrong apartment before he tentatively knocks. For a long moment there's no answer until he can hear footsteps. He prays for one furtive moment that he has the right apartment as the door opens. Barry has to restrain himself from breathing out a sigh of relief when a familiar mop of curly hair signifies that he really was right and had nothing to worry about. "Barry! There you are man!" Dan says with a great big smile on his face. "I was beginning to wonder if you got lost or something! Come on in!"

     Barry tentatively follows after Dan, noticing that there are shoes piled at the door. He panics for a moment at the threshold of the apartment which makes Dan turn and chuckle. "You don't have to take your shoes off."

     Barry flushes and nods, quickly striding into the apartment. It looks like a pretty typical bachelor pad, except the fact that it's relatively clean. A large keyboard is set up in the living room next to the window, and it's the nicest keyboard Barry's ever seen. There's also a blue bass guitar set up next to the keyboard "Thanks for inviting me," he practically squeaks, remembering his manners.

     "Hey man you only turn twenty one once," Danny remarks with an small shrug of his shoulders. His hands are stuffed in his pockets and he's got an easy smile on his face as Barry takes in his apartment.

     Barry chuckles. "That's what Arin kept saying. I don't feel any different. It's just now I'm old enough to drink."

     Dan laughs back. "Oh yeah, twenty one year olds are basically children with drinking licenses." He strides towards the kitchen and leaves Barry standing awkwardly in the living room. "By the way, do you have your ID? You're gonna need it."

     Barry nods before remembering Dan can't see him. "Yeah, I got it changed a couple of days ago."

     Barry hears Dan laugh from the kitchen. "Well we'll be breaking it in tonight if I have anything to say about it. You want anything to drink by the way? I got water, juice. Have you eaten?"

     The line of questions makes Barry curse underneath his breath. He forgot to eat before he left he was so worried about other things. "Um, no?" He asks softly.

     "Ok cool I can make something real quick before we head out," Dan says and Barry hears him start fiddling with stuff.

     "We're not heading out now?"

     "Bars don't open until nine anyway. We can just relax and chill out. Watch a movie or something?" Dan asks, peeking is head around the corner to his kitchen. He laughs and Barry gives him a questioning look. "You can sit down you know," Dan clarifies and Barry flushes, turning on his heel to do just that.

     "Thanks again, Dan," Barry says quietly.

     "No problem again, dude. So you like chicken?" Dan asks.

     "Yeah," Barry replies.

     "Sweet, that's the one thing I know how to make really well."

     As he listens to Dan clink around in the kitchen Barry realizes how domestic this feels. He's also aware of how much this feels like a date but he shuts that train of thought down as he flushes darkly. "Is Brian working?" He asks tentatively.

     "Yeah, he won't be back until late," Danny comments easily over the sizzling of the pan. Barry jiggles his knee without realizing it as he continues to stare around the apartment. There's a fan oscillating and blowing a lazy wall of air throughout the living room that tickles the hairs on Barry's arms every time it passes. "So what's with the backpack?" Dan is suddenly in front of him, holding out a plate of chicken with a raised brow and an easy smile. Barry almost jumps out of his skin and it makes Dan chuckle as he takes the plate, his ears turning red. "I mean you have it with you all the time at work and now you have it here?"

     Barry takes a small bit of the chicken before answering. It's moist and flavorful and Barry hums at the taste. "I uh…I just like to have my stuff with me when I go places."

     Dan sits next to him on the couch and kicks his feet up on the coffee table, his long legs crossing at his ankles. "I can see what you mean, but doesn't it get annoying after a while?"

     Barry shrugs, adamantly avoiding eye contact with Dan as he takes another bite. "I don't know, I got used to it from college I guess."

     Dan nods but Barry doesn't see it since he's keeping his eyes firmly on his food. "Yeah, I get that."

     They sit in silence for a few long moments, their forks clinking and scraping gently against their plates. Barry comments as he swallows another bite because he can't handle the silence. "I like your apartment, it's nice."

     The other man smiles and Barry catches it this time, looking up at Dan from underneath his eyelashes. "Yeah," Dan sighs half-wistfully. "Brian did a good job when he found this place. Neighbors can be loud sometimes but I like it enough."

     Barry nods back as he finishes his plate. He keeps it in his hands since he has no idea what he should do with it. He doesn't want to intrude into Dan's kitchen without his permission, so he sits there, jiggling his knee subconsciously and staring at the carpet. He can feel Dan staring at him so he speaks. "That's cool," he says, feeling his ears heating up. Idiot, what the fuck does that even mean?

     "You thirsty?" Dan asks, easily swiping the plate and fork out of Barry's hands as he stands.

     "Water would be nice," Barry murmurs.

     Dan returns and offers Barry the water, and Barry glances up only long enough to take the glass from Dan's hand before returning his gaze to his lap. There's a moment of silence and Barry almost looks up to see what's wrong when Dan lets out a sigh and plops down next to him. Dan runs a hand through his fluffy curls and sighs. "You know if you're anxious about going out, we don't have to. We can just sit and watch a movie or something."

     Barry finally looks up at Dan, peeling the skin off his lips with his teeth absentmindedly. "No! I want to! It's just…I'm always nervous when I go to people's houses for the first time. I always feel like a stranger you know?" He babbles. "I just don't want to fuck up."

     Dan stretches his arms over the back of the couch and Barry almost jumps when Dan's finger brushes against the back of his hair. He leans forward ever so slightly, his face breaking out in a flush. "No I know what you mean, man," Dan comments. "But you don't have to worry about fucking up around me, Barry. There's nothing you could do that could fuck up our friendship."

     "You don't know that," Barry blurts, looking down at the water in his hands. He absently spins it.

     Dan lets out an easy laugh and uses the arm that's stretched out behind Barry to pull the younger man in closer by the shoulder, mindful of the water still clutched in Barry's grasp. "You can relax Barry, I promise." He says it gently, almost intimately. Pulled in close, Dan smells clean, like he just showered, and Barry notices that he missed a spot shaving behind the curve of his jaw. A bubble of nervous laughter comes out of his mouth without his permission. He knows Dan is a touchy guy, has seen it happen at work on numerous occasions. Pats on the back and simple touches are easy for him, but Barry has never really been the focus of those simple touches much in the past and the sudden proximity is making him flustered.

     "Easier said than done!" he exclaims with another clip of anxious laughter. He takes a long sip of his water, turning his head to do so so he doesn't have to look at Dan and so nothing else stupid will come out of his mouth. It feels like there's no direction from his brain and his mouth is just spilling out words to fill the silence. He feels like an idiot.

    Dan releases him with a calculated look before letting out a quiet hum. He rubs at his recently shaved chin with his free hand as the other straightens out behind Barry's head again. "You like Lord of the Rings?" Dan says suddenly.

     Barry smiles. "Does the sun rise in the East?"

 

     "I mean I'm not saying that CGI is bad and that the Hobbit is a bad movie," Dan explains as they enter the first bar of the night. "But Lord of the Rings was as much extras in makeup as they were anything else! There was so much more raw manpower and it just felt…I don't know, more real, you know?"

     Barry nods as they hand over their IDs and that illicit feeling in his stomach comes back, making him smile. Also he hasn't found someone who likes Tolkien as much as he does in a really long time. Hell Arin hasn't even _seen_ any of the Lord of the Rings movies. "No I get what you mean, it feels like they could have done more instead of relying mainly on CGI. The Uruk-hai were all big ass Samoan guys while Azog was just all CGI."

     "Exactly!" Dan exclaims, throwing his hands in the air.

     "What can I get for you?" The bartender asks.

     Dan smiles, "Well my friend here just turned twenty one and this is the first time he's ever been to a bar." He gestures to Barry as he speaks, and Barry smiles nervously at the bartender, as if he's still not allowed to be here.

     The Bartender smiles and nods, turning to start mixing a drink. He sets a shot down in front of Barry. "If you can drink this all in one go you don't have to pay, but if you can't, you gotta pay, deal?"

     Barry gulps and looks at the almost overflowing shot. The first shot he'd ever taken was a shot of Jack Daniel's whiskey, and he'd been seventeen and it had burned like a motherfucker. He wasn't looking forward to that feeling again. "Just lean back and knock it back as fast as you can, don't let it sit in your mouth for too long and it won't burn as much," Dan says.

     Barry gives the shot one more skeptical look before shrugging and bringing the shot glass gently to his lips before knocking it back. It burns but Barry swallows as soon as the liquor is in his mouth. The burn flows down his throat but is followed by a warm feeling and Barry laughs; that wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. "Congratulations," The bartender says with a smile, swiping the shot glass away as Barry sets it down, "Anything else I can get for you?"

     "A Derailer please," Dan says easily, sliding over his debit card.

     Barry doesn't know what that is, but it turns out to basically be a bucket with about seven different alcohols in it. Barry is nervous as Dan takes it from the bartender and leads Barry over to a table. There are two straws in the drink and Dan offers it to him first. Barry cautiously takes a sip. He's thankful that the strong tang of alcohol he expected isn't really there. "It's good," he comments, taking another sip.

     Dan smiles and takes a sip himself. "Would I ever steer you wrong, Barry?"

 

     As it turns out it's Karaoke night at the bar, and of course Dan signs the both of them up. They're almost finished with the Derailer when it's Dan's turn to sing, and Barry watches and cheers when Dan rocks out easily to 'Carry on my Wayward Son'. People clap and cheer when Dan hit the high notes with practiced ease. Barry laughs, of course Dan could still sing when he's drunk. Barry doesn't think he's drunk, because he's not swaying or stumbling, but there's a pleasant fog that's come over him. He's called up to sing and he sings a Fall out Boy song, and Dan cheers for him louder than anyone else, and it makes the warm feeling in his stomach even warmer.

     Barry gets another shot that's called a Washington Apple, and it tastes like a candied apple, and he tells himself he needs to remember what this one is called because it’s really good.

 

     They leave the bar and head to another one and Barry is definitely buzzed. He's smiling and laughing and by the time they descend a flight of stairs into the next bar he's giggling. This bar is definitely different than the other because it's crowded and there's dance music playing. Dan immediately leads them to the bar and Barry takes another birthday shot like a champ. Dan buys him a shot of tequila and they do it with salt and lime and even though Barry is drunk at this point he decides that tequila is not his drink because he almost spits it out. Dan gets him another drink that he forgets the name of but it's really tasty and he sips it through the straw as he stumbles closely behind Dan as they sit in an empty booth. "You drunk yet, Barry?"

     Barry thinks about it, "I am. It's interesting, It kinda feels like you're dizzy but not like you're going to fall over, right?"

     Dan laughs and sips at his own drink. "Damn Barry, I wouldn't have taken you for the philosophical drunk."

     It makes Barry giggle. He notices that the back of his left foot feels a little sore, but he probably just hit it or something and can't remember.

     Both Barry and Dan take a shot of fireball next, and it tastes like Barry swallowed straight cinnamon, but they switch to Angry Orchard right afterwards, which soothes the burn. About halfway through the beer though, Barry's stomach starts to feel not so great, so he stops. "You ok, Barry?" Dan asks, leaning in close and putting an arm on Barry's back. The motion of the people dancing around doesn't help Barry's stomach.

     "Can you get me some water?" Barry asks. Dan gets up without another word.

     Twenty minutes later Barry is focusing on a stain on the floor, trying to keep it together. You can do it man, don't lose it, don't lose it. He leans over to Dan and, "IthinkI'mgonnathrowup," comes rushing out of his mouth.

     "Ok, we're gonna get you to a bathroom," Dan says, taking him in his arms and leading him across the bar.

     The alcohol really hits Barry and everything becomes a confusing mess. He's stumbling but clutching to Dan with all his might. A woman comes up to them and tries to stop them, and Dan starts to argue and Barry can't hear what they're saying because the blood is roaring in his ears. Bile starts to rise in his throat and he tells himself to hold it back, but he can't. It's the weirdest experience. Most times when he throws up he can at least dry heave, gag, and hold it back for at least the amount of time it takes to get to the bathroom, but now it just comes out of him. Luckily he turns away from Dan and the woman before losing it all over the bar floor.

     The next thing he knows he's being shoved towards a toilet on his knees. "I'll be back in a minute, ok?" Dan says and Barry is about to answer before he throws up again.

     He pants hard and grimaces at the stinging in his throat. He notices he got some vomit on the toilet seat and reaches for some toilet paper to wipe it away. "I'm a good person," he says to himself with a small smile while flushing the toilet, forgetting what he just did all over the bar floor.

     Suddenly the lady from before is back and yelling at him that he needs to get out of the bathroom and Barry turns to give her a, 'you want to make sure I'm done throwing up? Because the next time I throw up it's going to be on you' look but she just yells at him to get out of the bar. So Barry sighs and stands.

     The next thing he knows he's outside which is disconcerting because there was a flight of stairs between him and the door of the bar."Come on," someone says softly to Barry, and the world is spinning but he doesn't feel like he's going to throw up anymore. Someone takes his arm and he looks up to see Dan looking at him with a concerned expression.

     "M'ok Dan," Barry says, louder than anticipated. The back of his left foot hurts on his heel and he wants to take his shoe off. He reaches down to start untying his shoes but the world spins and his stomach twirls a little with it.

     "Don't take off your shoes, Barry," Dan says gently. Someone tries to lift him upright again and all Barry wants to do is sit down and take his shoe off so his foot stops hurting and so his head stops spinning. "Brian is gonna drive us back."

     Barry swings around to see a man standing next to Dan. "Hi Brian!" He says brightly with a smile. Brian doesn't smile back. He looks at Dan with a raised brow.

     "How much did he have to drink, Dan?" He asks, and he sounds like he's scolding Dan.

     Dan is quiet for a long moment, as if trying to quickly count exactly how many drinks Barry had poured down his throat over the course of the night. "Too much," Dan finally settles on.

     Barry stops listening carefully after that as Dan and Brian argue quietly—sounds more like Brian reprimanding Dan underneath his breath—while they wobble to Brian's car. Barry gets shoved into the front passenger seat of the car. "Let me know if you get nauseated, ok?" Brian asks Barry softly.

     The drunken younger man laughs and reaches out to pat Brain on the knee. He's too drunk to notice but Brian stiffens his grip on the steering wheel to a white knuckle hold. "Thank you Brian! You're a good person!" Barry says happily. The car starts moving and the world spins violently as Barry looks up, so he focuses his attention on his knees instead.

 

     Barry wakes up when they're outside Dan and Brian's apartment without the memory of the drive. Brian doesn't get out of the car and drives off once Dan manages to pull Barry out. "Where's Brian going?" Barry asks as Dan tries to drag Barry as quickly as he can into the building.

    "His girlfriend's," Dan mumbles as they finally get into the apartment. "Sit down," Dan adds, pushing Barry onto the couch. Dan turns on one of the lights on the side table next to the couch, but otherwise leaves the main lights off.

     The apparent severity of the situation hits Barry. He reaches for his shoes, trying as carefully as he can to pull the shoe off his stinging left foot. "M'sorry," he says gently, laying back on the couch and closing his eyes. It was too quiet for Dan to hear, and Barry listens to him clinking around in the kitchen like he did earlier. It feels like a lifetime ago that Barry sat on this couch, listening to the clatter of Dan making food. Dan comes back and Barry looks miserably at him. "I'm sorry," He says again, louder this time.

     Dan offers him a glass of water. "It's not your fault, sit up and drink this."

     Barry squirms up and takes a sip of the water. He sets it on the coffee table, frowning. "Did I throw up?" He asks.

     Dan gives a short nod, then offers him a pot. Barry blinks and gives Dan a look. "If you have to throw up again, use that so I can wash it out," Dan explains.

     Barry smiles. "Thank you Dan." He looks down at the pot and suddenly throws up in it. It's as if his body was just waiting for permission to throw up again.

     Dan blinks and takes the pot from him. "You feeling better?" Barry nods. "You done throwing up?"

     Barry nods again and Dan turns away to presumably wash the pot out. "Finish the water."

     Barry reaches and takes another long gulp, his head still spinning but less so than before. "How did we get back here?" He asks.

     "Brian drove us," Dan says as he passes through the living room to the bathroom. Barry continues to guiltily sip at his water, turning the glass idly in his hands. The heel of his left foot really hurts. It's more like where his shoe meets the back of his foot but he doesn’t trust himself to look at it carefully enough to see if he's hurt. Dan returns with a small paper cup in his hands.

     "Whuzzat?" Barry asks.

    "It’s mouthwash to get the taste of vomit out of your mouth," Dan says. "You're gonna be waking up with a wicked hangover and cotton mouth, I figure I can prevent vomit taste at least."

     Barry groans and leans back against the edge of the couch. "I have work tomorrow."

     "Call in sick," Dan says with finality, shaking the paper cup imperceptibly to get Barry's attention. Barry takes the cup and sips it, swishing it in his mouth. "Swish until I tell you to stop," Dan says, no nonsense. Barry feels bad. He ruined their night by getting too drunk. He should have told Dan that he was feeling nauseated long before he actually did. He thought he would be able to keep it cool, but apparently not. "Spit."

     Barry spits guiltily back into the cup and Dan takes it and the water glass from his hands. He returns with the water glass full again. He sets it next to Barry on the coffee table and sits next to Barry on the couch. "I'm sorry I threw up," Barry says, then a thought hits him. "I didn't throw up on you, did I?!" He asks, straightening so quickly it makes his head throb.

     Dan sighs and runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "No, you didn't, and it wasn’t your fault." He purses his lips and gives Barry a look, his eyebrows upturned. He lets out a breathless sigh as he speaks. "I forgot that you've never been drunk before and that the amount of alcohol I can drink and not get sick is vastly more than the amount of alcohol you can drink and not get sick. It's _my_ fault you threw up, Barry."

     "I think we're both a little to blame," Barry shrugs as he half lays back on the arm of the couch.

     "You gonna fall asleep?" Dan asks, raising a brow at him. Barry's eyes are already closed even as he shakes his head. "At least take your jeans off."

     Barry sighs and reaches down to undo his belt, but it’s a web belt and the little bar gets stuck on good days. He grunts and opens his eyes to try to fiddle with his belt but with Dan blocking the only real light source besides the kitchen light and his head still spinning, Barry can't figure it out. "S'fine," he mumbles, giving up and closing his eyes again.

     There's a short pause before Dan says, "Let me do it," so softly Barry almost doesn't catch it.

     "Whuh?" Is all Barry has time to say before he feels Dan's large hands fiddling with his belt. Barry is absolutely sure that he's going to pass out with how much blood rushes to his face.

     Dan says nothing as he's focused on trying to dislodge Barry's belt, and once he does he quickly and efficiently unbuttons and unzips Barry's pants like he's done it a thousand times before. Barry is shaking and he feels like his face is going to burst into flames any moment and he's definitely not as sleepy as he was before. "Lift your hips," Dan says. Barry hesitates, which makes Dan glance up at him. Dan must have seen just how red Barry's face is because his own face goes from confused to concern. "Barry are you ok?" Dan asks, leaning forward to get a better look at Barry's face.

     He sounds so concerned that Barry just can't stand it anymore.

     In a burst of movement far too coordinated than his drunken state should have allowed, Barry cups Dan's face in his hands and pulls the older man toward him.

     Their lips meet in a chaste brush of skin on skin before Dan can ask Barry what's going on.

     After what feels like an eternity to Barry's drunken mind—but in actuality is only a few seconds—Dan pulls out of Barry's grasp. He stares at Barry with wide eyes until his they narrow and he shifts back further, as if trying to escape. "Barry, man…I'm flattered and all—" he says, running a hand through his hair. He sounds so nervous and what just happened finally hits Barry and he thinks this is it, this is how he's going to die. He's going to die of embarrassment because he kissed his coworker/friend. "—But…Barry—Barry I'm not gay." Dan finishes lamely, looking at the younger man as if waiting for approval.

     They have a sort of stare off with each other, Dan expecting Barry to respond and Barry honestly having no idea how to do so. So Dan lets out a humorless laugh that's more of a release of breath than anything before shifting to get up and removing himself from the situation.

     Barry can't let it end like this. So in another burst of movement his drunken state really should not have allowed, Barry reaches out and grabs Dan's wrist, restricting him from leaving. Dan whips his head around, brows furrowed at Barry, silently asking for an explanation. Barry wants to tell him something, something that will make all of this be ok. Something that will make sure that their friendship doesn't end here. He can't let it end here, he just can't. He wants to explain, but all that comes out of his mouth is, "Neither am I."

     There's another long stare down between the both of them before everything seems to happen at once. Dan is suddenly kneeling in between Barry's legs and kissing him, holding his face in his large hands like Barry is something precious. Barry's head is spinning and foggy at the same time and he doesn't understand what's happening, but he lets it happen, let's Dan cradle and turn his jaw to deepen the kiss. He feels like he's going to pass out but the last thing in the world he wants to do is stop kissing Dan.

 

 

     Barry wakes up without remembering how or when he fell asleep. He blinks his eyes open and squints at the bright T.V. screen. His mouth feels like a desert and he smacks his lips, trying to create some saliva as he sits up. He smells food and almost jumps when he notices that Dan is sitting on the floor in front of him, the coffee table moved and his feet outstretched before him as he watches a movie. There's a Domino's pizza box to his left and he's calmly eating pizza like it's the thing to do. "What time is it?" Barry asks, his voice croaking like a frog. He flushes.

     Dan starts but he hides it well with a laugh. "Two in the morning," he replies, taking another bite of pizza. He doesn't look at Barry as he eats, but Barry figures it's because he's focused on the movie.

     Barry blinks. He doesn't remember falling asleep, the last thing he remembers is talking to Dan about how it was probably both their faults that he got sick. He's feeling considerably less drunk than before, in fact he feels pretty much sober, but if he seriously doesn't get something to drink soon he thinks he's going to die. "Is the glass of water—" Barry doesn't even finish the sentence before Dan hands the glass of water over. He downs half of it in one go before saying, "Thanks Dan, for everything."

     Dan is quiet for a long moment before nodding, still not looking at Barry. It's weird, but Barry figures it's because they've had a long night. "No problem Barry, despite everything, I had fun."

     Barry smiles. "Me too." His stomach suddenly growls and he laughs nervously. Dan laughs too and finally looks at him, handing over the pizza box without a word. "You wear glasses?" Barry asks without thinking when he sees the thin frames resting on Dan's nose. Barry flushes, "Sorry I've just never seen you wear them."

     Dan shrugs, "My contacts were bugging me," he simply says, still offering the box to Barry. Barry takes a slice and sits up fully to eat it, sitting crisscross so that Dan can sit on the couch if he wants to. He feels guilty that he accidentally fell asleep and left Dan to sit on the floor, but Dan doesn't move, and Barry relaxes as he watches.

     As it turns out Dan is watching The Hobbit, and it makes Barry smile into his pizza. After both he and Dan finish off the box Barry settles in, watching the movie with Dan in companionable silence. Barry nods off again just as the company reaches Rivendell, a smile on his face as he does.

 

     When the movie is over and Dan turns to see Barry asleep, he lets out a long sigh and runs a hand through his curls. "What am I going to do with you, Barry?"

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the awesome comments and kudos!


	6. Last Friday Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thanks so much to those of you who've left these awesome comments and kudos! I really appreciate it!  
> Not beta'd. I really wanted to get this out to you guys. Once again all my mistakes are my own.  
> Real quick warning: This chapter goes into detail of treating a foot wound

      Barry doesn't wake up with a splitting headache, but with exhaustion and cotton mouth. He wakes up alone on the couch and still in his jeans. As he finishes off the half glass of water from the coffee table that he assumes is his, he thinks about what happened the night before. He remembers a surprising amount, and the only moments he can't really remember is the ride back to Dan's apartment. The whole throwing up business is fuzzy at best, but he knows it happened and it makes him groan, covering his eyes with his free hand. He can never go back to that bar again for fear of actually exploding out of embarrassment. "Hey remember me? I'm the guy that threw up all over the bar floor." After sitting and stewing in his embarrassment, a thought clicks in his head and he scrambles to take his phone out of the front pocket of his jeans. It's about 11:00 so he hasn't missed work, but the back of his left foot is pounding, and when he stands, the pain is so sharp that it actually forces him to sit back down. He runs a hand over his face and lets out a sigh, there's no way that he can go to work today, but he doesn't want to let Kat down. He'll have to find someone to cover his shift for him otherwise he'll be standing on his injured leg for six hours. He groans again, there's no way in hell he can ask Dan, and Arin is already working, so that leaves one of the teenagers, or Ross. He doesn't know if Ross is working, but he knows Ross hates working Saturdays because that's when the teenagers work the most. He decides to call Kat first, that seems like the best thing he can do right now.

      Barry thanks Kat one more time before hanging up. He lets out a huge sigh and thanks God that Kat is such a forgiving Manager. She told him it was no problem and that she'd find someone to cover for him. All he should be concerned about is healing his foot. After the phone call, Barry wonders whether Dan is still asleep. He doesn't know if he can limp over to the back of the apartment, where he assumes Dan and Brian's rooms are, but he finds he doesn't have to. Next to the water glass on the coffee table is a hastily scribbled note.

      _Barry,_

_I have to go to work, but you were sleeping like a rock and I couldn't wake you up. I left you my spare key so if you could lock up when you leave that would be fantastic. Text me when you get home so I know you got back safe. I had a lot of fun last night, dude, we should do it again sometime._

_Dan_

_P.S. You were trying to take your shoe off at the bar last night and you were limping to and from the car. Did you hurt your foot? I'm sorry if you did but make sure to check it out just in case. Let me know, ok?_

      Dan had scribbled the time at the top left hand corner of the note; 8:30. Barry winces, why didn't Dan tell him he had work this morning? Who knows how much sleep he got, and he must be hung over from how much they drank. Barry reaches for the spare key on the coffee table and looks at it with a frown. He feels really bad, Dan is probably miserable at work and he's just going to go home and relax. His thumb rubs over the key for a second as he thinks. He stands as carefully as he can so not to disturb his foot and pockets the key. He forgoes putting on his shoes and gathers his stuff together as quickly as he can. He feels like he did last night, an intruder in someone else's home. The feeling is even worse than the night before since Dan isn't there to easily break the tension. Dan is always good at diffusing tension. Barry sighs and tries to slip on his shoes, not tying them for fear of irritating his foot more. He doesn't want to walk around outside without shoes—because that's just weird—but he knows he shouldn't keep wearing them. He'll drive without them on; he just needs to get to his car. As he slings his backpack over his shoulder, he reaches for the key in his pocket. He gives the apartment a once over and spies a pen resting on the side table. He hesitates for a moment before flipping over Dan's note and scribbling one of his own.

      _Dan,_

_I had a lot of fun last night. Thanks again for taking care of me, I owe you one._

_-Barry_

      Barry steps carefully to the door and locks it, making triple sure it actually locked before putting the key in his pocket for safe keeping. He limps over to his car, wincing at every step. He seriously messed up his foot and he is not looking forward to inspecting the damage once he gets home. The second he gets into the car he takes off his shoes, and the entire drive home just feels weird.

      When he pulls into his garage, Barry is thankful that his mom isn't home at the moment, so he scurries into the house and dumps his stuff off in his room. He limps to the kitchen and grabs the big Band-Aids and the Neosporin from the cabinet above the microwave—they both live next to the sunscreen—and sits down at his kitchen table. Knowing he can no longer stall the inevitable, Barry peels, actually _peels_ the sock off his left foot, hissing all the way until the wound on the back of his foot is revealed. Barry winces at it; it's a blister that covers practically the entire back side of his heel, right where the edge of his shoes had been apparently rubbing against him all night. He just had to wear the newer sneakers, didn't he? Barry groans, there's no way Neosporin alone is going to do the job, so he grabs the Band-Aids and hobbles over to the bathroom. After retrieving the Hydrogen Peroxide from underneath the sink, he hoists himself up on the countertop. He positions his foot carefully over the sink and leans forward to closely inspect the wound. It's actually got sock fibers stuck in it from how long he was wearing his socks. Barry curses his past self for not doing anything about it. With a sigh, Barry turns on the faucet, making it as room temp as he can before gently sticking his foot underneath the water. He hisses and nearly jerks his foot back but keeps his foot steady, the water hurting but washing some of the fibers out. The wound glistens with what he assumes is puss and he grimaces, getting off the counter to get some toilet paper. He hops back up and opens the Hydrogen Peroxide, pouring a little on the folded toilet paper. With a deep sigh, Barry prepares himself for the worst.

      It's a thousand times worse than he thought it would be and he's just glad that his mom isn't home because he actually cries out when he presses the toilet paper to his wound the pain is so bad. He holds it there though and pulls back after about thirty seconds. Some sock fibers are still stuck in the wound, and the toilet paper comes away yellow in color and Barry knows that that's not good at all. He resists the urge to pick at the wound to get the bits of fabric out but he really needs them out. He jumps off the counter once again and gets a toothpick from the kitchen. "I hope this works," he mumbles to himself once he's back on the bathroom counter. He gently prods at the sock fibers, pulling them out of the wound with a few hisses and one yelp because the piece is so stuck in the wound. "This sucks, this sucks, this sucks," he groans, but all the sock fibers are out.

      He foregoes the toilet paper this time and just pours the Hydrogen Peroxide over the wound, hissing loudly in pain as the disinfectant bubbles against it. "It's good for it, it's disinfecting it," Barry tells himself, pressing fresh toilet paper to the wound. It still comes back yellow when he pulls it away. Son of a bitch.

      He spends the next half an hour tending to his wound. The pain gets less and less each time but it still stings and throbs to all Hell. Finally, _finally_  he deems it clean enough. He takes out a giant Ban-Aid and spreads a liberal amount of Neosporin on it before placing it carefully over his wound. The exhaustion from before has returned ten-fold and all Barry wants to do is curl up into a ball and sleep. Maybe this is his version of a hangover? No headache but all exhaustion? He can feel the early pangs of hunger settling right under his ribs, but he foregoes eating because he is that damn tired. He curls into his bed without even changing out of his jeans and is asleep within minutes.

      He wakes up two hours later to his phone buzzing. It's a text from Dan.

      _From: Dan_

_Hey man, did you make it home ok?_

      Barry blinks groggily at his phone. It takes a few tries to fully comprehend what he's read, but he sits up and types back a message, a yawn tearing out of his mouth.

      _To: Dan_

_Yeah, I did. Sorry I didn't text you earlier, I fell asleep._

Barry gets up, the pain in his foot considerably less than it was when he fell asleep. The disinfectants must have done the trick. His stomach growls loudly, reminding him that the last time he ate was almost twelve hours ago, and he pads into the kitchen. His dad is sitting on the couch watching T.V. and his mom is stirring something at the stove. "Hi Barry," his dad mumbles, not tearing his eyes away from the T.V.

      "Hi Dad, hi Mom," Barry replies, carefully getting into one of the two bar stools situated at the kitchen island.

      "How was your time with Mark?" His mom asks.

      That pang of guilt is back and Barry gives his most convincing smile and chuckle. "We had a lot of fun!" He says. He shifts and the back of his foot knocks against the wooden legs of the barstool and Barry hisses, his face scrunching up in pain.

      His mom makes a step for him. "What's wrong?" She asks.

      Son of a bitch. "I hurt my foot hanging out with Mark. My shoes rubbed a really bad blister onto the back of my heel. I just conked it on the stool."

      "Did you put some disinfectant on it?" Barry's dad asks, looking over his shoulder.

      Barry nods, "Yeah, I made sure I cleaned it with Hydrogen Peroxide and Neosporin."

      His dad nods. "Make sure you let it breathe. Take it off before you go to sleep and you can redress it in the morning." He turns back to watch the T.V.

      Barry nods back, carefully shifting his foot so it won't hit the bar stool again. "Are you hungry sweetie?" His mom asks.

      "Ravenous," Barry replies.

 

      After he's eaten, Barry checks his phone. There's a text message from Dan that he got an hour ago. He must have not felt it buzz in his pocket. Speaking of pockets, Barry slips his hand into the pocket of his jeans where Dan's apartment key still lies. His thumb rubs it absently while he reads Dan's text.

      _From: Dan_

_Hey man, I'm just glad you got home safe. By the way I saw your note. You don't owe me anything, I promise._

Barry flushes as the fuzzy memories of him throwing up race into his mind. No matter what Dan says, it still feels like he owes him at least _something_.

      _To: Dan_

_You dealt with drunk me; I can assume it wasn't pleasant._

      Barry fishes the key out of his pocket and sets it carefully on his desk, in plain sight so he'll remember to give it to Dan when he sees him next.

_From: Dan_

      _Trust me, it wasn't my first or worst time taking care of a drunk person, I promise. By the way, is your foot ok?_

      Barry grimaces and glances down at his bandaged foot. Now that it's been brought back to his attention, the wound aches softly.

      _To: Dan_

_Yeah, I got a gnarly blister though_

_From: Dan_

_What happened? Do you remember?_

_To: Dan_

_Not quite, but I figure it's from my new shoes. I haven't worn them for long enough period to know they'd cause blisters._

_From: Dan_

_That's a total bummer, man. You get out of work today?_

_To: Dan_

_Yeah_

_From: Dan_

_That's good, you rest up ok?_

Barry smiles, sinking onto his bed, his uninjured foot tucked underneath him as he leans back against his pillows.

      _To: Dan_

_Oh that's SO hard for me. I'll find a way I'm sure._

      Barry barks a laugh when Dan replies.

      _From: Dan_

_You're actually a little ball of sass, aren't you?_

_To: Dan_

_Hang around with me more, you'll find out I'm like 95% sass._

_From: Dan_

_I'd like that, Barry._

Barry's heart clenches and he clutches at his phone with both hands, rereading the simple message over and over again. His face flushes and he types a quick message and sends it before he can stop himself out of embarrassment and anxiety.

      _To: Dan_

_I'd like that too, Dan._

      He can't take it back now, and Barry almost throws his phone away but sets it down instead, sinking into his pillows, his face flushing darkly. After a long moment, his phone vibrates, but Barry doesn't—can't—look at it.

 

 

      When Barry returns Dan's key the next time they work together, their fingers brush slightly and Barry pulls back like he's been burned. Dan arches an eyebrow at him but Barry just smiles and flushes, thanking Dan once again before scurrying off to the opposite side of the store, under the guise of doing work.

      He slathers butter on the crazy bread just pulled out of the oven, then sprinkles seasoning on them. "Your chest hurt?" Ross asks, peeking over the bread and sauce rack. Barry can only really see the top half of his face through the lattice work of metal, but the look he's giving Barry is one of concern.

      "Hm? Barry asks blankly, looking away to easily slip the bread into a bag and folding it like how Kat taught him to.

      "You were rubbing your chest," Ross shrugs, grabbing the bread through the opening when Barry hands it off and putting it in the front counter heating cabinet.

      Barry blinks; was he? "I think my heart was just beating really fast for some reason, you know how it does that?"

      Ross nods at him from behind the sauce rack, a smile on his lips that Barry has come to recognize as the smile Ross makes when he's about to fuck with someone. Arin has dubbed it Ross' 'I just want to watch the world burn' smile. "What's makin' your heart pound, Barry? You got a crush on someone?"

      Since Ross has once again devolved into a twelve year old boy, Barry figures sinking down to his level wouldn't hurt. He's flushed but he says in a sing-song voice, "Says the one who's got a giiiiirlfriend."

      Ross chuckles, sniffing and rubbing at his nose. "Yeah but I love her," he says fondly, no joking in his tone.

      Barry laughs and half sings over his shoulder as he goes to the oven to pull out more bread. "You loooove her."

      Ross starts to cackle but has to hold it in as customers come into the shop at that exact moment. His face is so red from trying to keep it together that Barry can't help but laugh as he watches. The customers just give Ross a weird look as he hands them their pizza, creaking out a strained and giggle infused, 'Thank you have a nice day'. As soon as they drive away Ross loses it, cackling so hard for no reason as he cries and bangs his fist on the counter. His giggles are infectious, and soon everyone in the store is laughing, even the bratty teenagers, and no one exactly knows why. Kat is laughing as well, wiping tears out of her eyes but she's trying to calm everyone down. "C'mon guys, let's calm down," she says her voice still shaking with laughter.

      Barry is running a pizza cutter across a freshly baked pizza, still giggling softly, but he hisses when the boiling pizza sauce spurts forth and splatters onto his hand. He drops the pizza cutter. "Son of a bitch!" He hisses underneath his breath, shaking his hand to get rid of the sauce. It still burns and Barry absently puts his mouth on the red wound, stepping away from the pizza.

      "You ok, Barry?" Dan asks from the bread station.

      Barry nods, the top of his palm stuck in his mouth still. "Burned my hand a little," he mumbles against the skin.

      "Stick it under some water, not too cold," Dan replies with a small smile.

      Barry nods gain, quickly striding over to the sink next to the phone. As he's drowning his right hand under the spray of the faucet, the phone rings. Barry panics. He's the closest to the phone but he's never takes an order before. Everyone is busy and even though Barry is tending to his burning hand, he feels responsible. "I got it!" He says. He knows what to say, but he's never done it and his burned hand throbs along with his pounding heart. He grabs the phone with his free hand. "Hello this is Little Caesar's, this is Barry speaking how can I help you?"

      Kat shouts for Dan to replace Barry on the landing position: cutting and boxing pizzas. Barry tries to ignore it and listen to the customer. "Hi, yeah, I need uh, a half pepperoni and half meat lovers pizza—"

      Barry absolutely panics. He not only can't punch in the order due to his hand, but he doesn't know how. Why did he answer the phone, dammit! He's lost and he hasn't answered but he knows he needs to and the panic is mounting until someone plucks the phone out of his hand and takes over. Barry turns his hand and it's Dan, a small smile on his face as he easily takes over. "I'm sorry could you repeat that?" He asks, scanning his thumb into the computer so he can take the order.

      Barry sags with physical relief, smiling at Dan. He whispers, 'Thank you', finally pulling his hand out from under the water. Although the area was still red, it didn't sting nearly as badly as before.

      Dan side eyes him and mouths back, 'My pleasure', and winks, easily punching in the order. "Alright thank you very much it will be ready by the time you get here, thank you very much!"

      Barry flushes and scuttles away, drying off his hands and retreating to the back."You ok, Barry?" Kat asks.

      Barry throws a smile her way, tossing the paper towel into the trash. "Just kinda burned my hand a little, pizza sauce burns like hell."

      Kat chuckles, cutting dough and tossing it casually into a machine that rolls it so she can put it on trays and into the fridge so the dough can rise overnight."Are you doing anything for the fourth, Barry?" she asks, obviously trying to keep her tone light. Is she trying to distract him from his hand?

      Barry shrugs, fetching a drink of water since he's in the back anyhow. Afterwards he wanders over to help Kat. The store is pretty slow as it is after the lunch rush, and it's always a sign that his shift is coming to a close. "Dunno, I might spend it with my parents, my dad always somehow gets fireworks." He laughs. "The police fly in helicopters over our neighborhood the most for some reason."

      "Your dad ever get the sky ones?" Kat asks, tossing dough as Barry straightens the already rolled balls out.

      "Oh God no," Barry laughs. "You don't need to; you can see Disneyland's fireworks from my roof."

      At that, Ross turns from doing sheet-outs. "Whoa, really?!"

      "Mmhm, sure they're not huge where we're at but if you look in the right direction you can still see them," Barry replies with a shrug.

      "That's so cool! I'd love to see that!" Ross says, flipping dough onto the pan without looking. Amazingly it flops in perfectly.

      Barry smiles. "You can come over if you want."

      Ross's eyes practically sparkle. "Really?! Can Holly come too?!"

      "Sure, we can make it a party, just let me ask my parents," Barry replies, his smile widening.

      "Awesome!"

      Barry's smile turns in on himself, hefting a full tray into the walk in fridge. Two minutes ago he didn't know what he was doing; now he's planning a party. He's never really planned a party before. He's invited Ross and Holly, and he knows he wants to invite Arin and Suzy too. Should he invite Dan? He looks over his shoulder to where Dan is quickly slapping pepperonis onto pizzas and sliding them into the racks. He's humming an unknown tune underneath his breath, mouthing the words to himself. A warm smile makes its way to Barry's lips. It feels as close to the real Dan he's ever seen, the Dan that exists when no one else is watching. Dan turns and Barry can't look away and can't pretend he hasn't been staring. Yet Dan, ever easygoing Dan doesn't comment, only winks at Barry, a smirk on his lips.

      Barry looks away quickly and turns back to arranging dough on the trays. Yes, he'll ask Dan if he can come.

      The bell for the front door chimes and Ross bolts to the front, still covered in flour. "Holly!" He shouts happily, and Barry can't help but make his way to the front as casually as he can so it doesn't look like he's spying to see what Ross's girlfriend looks like. The first thing Barry notices is that she has short wavy pastel pink hair. She's wearing a t-shirt and high-waisted shorts and a bag is slung over her shoulder. There's a flower bandanna tied in her hair and her eyes crinkle as she smiles brightly as Ross.

      "Hi Ross!" She says with a little wave. "I'm a little early aren't I?" She winces, checking the time on her phone.

      Ross's smile is positively love struck. "Naw, I'm almost off, let me clean off and I'll ask Kat if I can go."

      "Kay," Holly replies, sitting on one of the customer chairs, reminding Barry of when he was there himself, what seemed like so long ago but not at all at the same time.

      He comes out from behind the heating cabinets, reaching down under the counter where there are rags soaking in a mixture of disinfectant and water. He begins idly wiping down the counter, humming a mindless tune as he does so. One of the older teens Brittany comes in for her shift, a sour look on her face. Barry tries his best to smile at her but she just scowls, making him jerk his gaze back to the counter, chewing his lip as he does. About the three minutes later Ross returns in his street clothes, which is just him throwing on a transformers t-shirt if Barry is honest about it, smiling. Holly stands. "You ready to go?" She asks. Ross nods, then swears.

      "Shit, I gotta count out the register for Brittany; I'll just be a sec!" He said, scanning his thumb and opening the register. He starts counting as quickly as he can, probably not doing as thorough as a job as he really should. He glances up after a second before saying, "Holly, this is Barry."

      Barry almost jolts but he looks up. Holly strides forward, offering a hand. Barry's smile is a little strained as he reaches for her hand. He then pulls back at the last second, wiping his hand on the side of his jeans to dry it off. "Sorry," he chuckles nervously and Holly's smile just widens.

      "It's nice to meet you," she says, and they shake hands.

      "Barry is gonna have a Fourth of July party at his house and he invited us!" Ross says, still not looking up from counting, and Barry doesn't have the heart to tell him he really needs to get the OK from his parents before he can confirm the party. "You can see the Disneyland fireworks from his house!" Ross adds and Holly smiles at him, not the long suffering smile that people give Ross sometimes, but a genuine smile full of affection.

      Barry's heart pinches with what he recognizes as jealousy and he chews on his lip. He's not jealous of who they have, but what they have. Has Barry ever had anyone who's looked at Ross the way Holly does and vice versa? If he really thinks about it, he doesn't think so. It leaves a sort of aching in his chest that he tries to drown out by scrubbing at the counter with a somewhat unnecessary amount of vigor. "It was nice meeting you Barry; hopefully I can come to the party!" Holly says suddenly.

      Barry smiles and laughs nervously under his breath. "Me too," he half lies. He hopes his parents will approve, he'd hate to let everybody down.

      Ross finishes counting down the register in record time, punching in the final numbers and closing the register with his hip. "Okie dokie, all done!" He says, casually cracking his neck. He turns to call out a goodbye to everyone in the back before taking Holly's hand and heading for the door. "So how's Lieutenant Birb?" He asks.

      "He's doing good! He misses you!" Holly teases, and Ross flushes.

      "You mean he misses biting me," he says.

      "He's not biting you he's pecking," she laughs.

      "Still hurts," Ross insists.

      They leave the store and the bell chimes. Barry glances at the clock on the computer register, he should be off by now but he should really wait until another employee comes into the store so they can replace him. He dumps the rag back into the bucket underneath the counter and reorganizes the pizzas in the warming cabinets so there are no spaces left up top. He reaches up without looking to grab the bags of crazy bread to put them at the front counter when his hand brushes something that is decidedly _not_ a paper bag filled with bread. He almost jumps out of his skin when he tries to pull his hand back like it's been burned but it doesn’t go anywhere. When he looks up, Dan is looking at him through the metal latticework, laughing his ass off. He lets go of Barry's hand but keeps laughing, and Barry shifts his eyes away, grabbing at the bread and practically throwing it into the counter's bread cabinet. "Not inviting me to a party Barry? You wound me!" Dan says.

      Barry practically whips around. Dan is still partially hidden behind the metal network of the bread rack. He all but shouts, "You're—" before catching himself and quieting down, looking away from Dan. "—invited," he finishes lamely.

      Dan smiles, but Barry doesn't see it. "Sweet, I'll be sure to get the Fourth off for work," he says, slapping another two bags of bread atop the metal. "Bread's up."

      Barry looks up and warily reaches for the bread, watching Dan the entire time, who looks like he's trying to hold back his smile but is failing miserably. Barry takes it with narrowed eyes before turning his back and arranging the bread carefully into the cabinet. Brittany storms over to the register and angrily scans her thumb, if doing so could really be angry. She must not be happy being cashier. She starts counting in the register, much much slower than Ross did, a scowl on her lips. "I swear to God if that dumbass fucking counted it out wrong and I get in trouble..." she grumbled underneath her breath.

      Barry frowns; he's starting to understand why Ross hates the teenagers so much. They automatically think just because he's different and excitable he's dumb and can't get anything right. Barry's frown deepens and he turns, not wanting to walk by Brittany to get to the back out of spite. He almost falls over when he runs into another person, an apology on his lips. Hand reach out to catch him by his shoulders and Dan is looking at him with concern, the mirth from earlier all but gone. "You ok, Barry?" He asks.

      Barry looks away and chews on his lip. "I'm fine," he lies.

      "Hey can we get some fucking work done around here?" Brittany asks to the air, but Barry knows she's talking to them, dropping coins into the register without even paying attention. Dan opens his mouth to say something but Barry beats him to it.

      "How about you actually pay attention to counting in the register so you don't fuck it up and get Ross in trouble?" He practically spits. He storms into the back but not before seeing the scandalized look on Brittany's face. A triumphant smile crosses his lips. He usually doesn't stir up trouble but he just couldn't help it. Ross is a lot fucking smarter than people take him credit for and Barry for one is done with their coworkers treating him like shit. He reaches the back and suddenly his conscience comes back to him and chest starts to hurt from embarrassment and shame. His takes a sip of his water to try to calm down but he starts to feel bad. He shouldn't feel bad because Brittany was the one who was being an asshole.

      "Barry?" Dan asks from behind him and Barry has to resist the urge to scuttle away again. He doesn't want to hear how out of line he was."You were right you know, she was being an ass."

      That startles him. He turns and looks up at Dan, who still looks concerned. "You think so?" He asks softly, fiddling with the lid to his water bottle.

      Dan smiles and nods. "Definitely, you did the right thing."

      Barry looks down at the flour covered linoleum. It's warped and bubbly in some places due to water and heat. "Thanks Dan," he says, not looking up at the other man.

      Dan puts a hand on his shoulder and Barry looks up at him, chewing at his lip absently."You're welcome, Barry."

      They stand there for what feels like an eternity, neither moving away. Dan just looks at him with a supportive smile, squeezing his shoulder once, not too hard. Barry opens his mouth to say something but Kat interrupts. "Barry, Kevin is here, you can leave!"

      It shocks them out of their moment and Barry turns his back, reaching into his backpack for his t-shirt. He retreats as quickly as he can into the bathroom so he doesn't have to look at Dan. Why is Dan always so concerned about him? Barry heaves a sigh and changes his shirt, fixing his hair in the mirror, trying to strive for normalcy to distract him. He takes a deep breath before leaving the bathroom. Dan isn't standing in the back anymore so Barry sags in relief. He stuffs his work shirt, visor and water bottle into his backpack before slinging it over his shoulder. He moves to the front, idly saying goodbye to Kat as he does. He clocks out, adamantly not looking at Brittany, even though he can feel her glaring daggers at him. He calls out a goodbye as a formality, leaving the store without looking back. Dan watches him leave from the landing as he boxes pizzas, his brows furrowed and a frown on his face. Barry suddenly feels antsy and he can't get out of the parking lot fast enough, tossing his bag carelessly into the passenger seat and starting to drive away without even fastening his seat belt first. He just wants to get home, today was weird and he doesn't want to be at the store anymore. He has no idea how the day went so pear shaped when it looked like it was going to end well. Did it even go that pear shaped? Is he overreacting?

      Once he reaches home he sits in the driveway, his head resting on his arms that are crossed over the steering wheel, trying to calm down. Tears of unknown frustration sting at his eyes and the fact that it feels like he's going to cry just makes him feel all the more frustrated. He knows that the work day wasn't all that bad and that he's being irrational about this but it doesn't stop and he just sits, trying to convince himself that he's ok. Why is he so fucking weird and freaking out about this? Nothing happened. When he finally calms down enough to get out of the car he scrubs at his eyes with the back of his right hand and hisses when he scrubs at the burn. He looks at his hand and heaves a great sigh, steeling himself so that he at least looks normal in front of his parents, so they won't ask if anything is wrong because he doesn't have it in him to talk about it.

  
 

      When Dan finally leaves the store about an hour later, he reaches into his pocket for his phone, dialing a number and holding the phone up to his ear as he begins the walk back to his apartment. " _This is Arin Hanson, leave yo name and numbah and I'll holla back atcha!_ "

      Dan sighs at the voicemail message, running his hand through his curly hair. He leaves a quick message before shoving his phone in his pocket and continuing his way home.  


      Two hours later Arin absently checks his phone and casually calls his voicemail when he sees the notification. " _New message: Monday, June 29 at 6:02, pm._ " The automated voice states before the message begins and Dan's voice comes in through the speaker.

      " _Hey man, it's  Dan. I just wanted to ask you a question."_ Arin frowns as Dan hesitates for a second then sighs. _"I just wanted to know......is Barry gay?"_

      There's another long moment of silence before Dan hangs up, with no explanation at all. It takes Arin a few seconds to pull the phone away from his ear. "Shit," he says, rubbing a hand down his face.   

     
  
  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, finally an update. Sorry for it being so long! I'm graduating college and it's been super busy, plus I got sick twice :/


	7. Firework

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no excuse for how late this is. So here, just take it from me and accept my humblest of apologies.
> 
> This is not beta'd in the least. I tried to go through it as much as I could but to be honest I just didn't want to look through this chapter anymore, plus I wanted to get it out to you as soon as I was finished (because I am a bad person who leaves people on a cliffhanger for FOUR MONTHS).
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. Hey let's pretend that in this universe California isn't having a drought!

            Amazingly, Barry's parents say yes. His dad even volunteers to cook for them. His mom jokes it's because his dad will do anything for a chance at barbecuing. Barry immediately texts Arin, asking him to text Ross to tell him because it's at that moment that Barry realizes that he doesn't remember Ross' phone number. He doesn't text Suzy, assuming that Arin will tell her, and Ross will for sure tell Holly if his excitement from a couple of days ago is anything to go by.

            So that leaves Dan. Barry smiles at the thought. Hanging out with Dan outside of work and being drunk is an exciting prospect, and he can't stop smiling as he texts Dan.

            _To: Dan_

_Operation 7-4 is a go. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to attend a simple surveillance mission with your fellow spies, along with a few members of a separate agency._

            Barry snickers to himself, slipping out of the back sliding glass door of his house and into the backyard. If there's one thing he really loves about his house, it's his backyard. It's big enough that you can play volleyball with a real net and still have room. His Dad did most of the landscaping himself years before Barry was born, so the foliage is lush, but not overgrown. He probably has the biggest backyard of any of his friends and has since he was a kid, and in California it's a big deal. He figures if his parents ever sold the house they'd get an absolute fortune out of it just from the backyard alone. As he absently stands on the freshly watered grass with no shoes on, just enjoying the beautifully sunny day and light breeze, is phone vibrates.

            _From: Dan_

_If I do not have any prior missions that require my attention, I will happily accept, Agent Barry._

All the fake spy talk reminds Barry of Ross' rumor and he outright laughs. He sits on the edge of the concrete porch, his feet still in the grass

            _To: Dan_

_Affirmative. Keep me informed Agent Dan. The surveillance mission begins in T-minus 48 hours._

_From: Dan_

_My pleasure, Agent Barry._

            That gets a flush out of him. He lays back on the porch and its warm, but not boiling from the sun, and he watches the clouds as long as he can until it makes his eyes water with how bright it is. He should ask his parents if he can set up the games they keep for the backyard. They also have one of those blow up pools they can probably use if they want to. Barry grins up at the sky; two days can't come fast enough.

           

            Barry can tell his mom is almost as excited as he is for this party. Barry never really had many parties when he was younger, but after graduating high school, he lost contact with a lot of the friends he had made, so the amount of friends he ever had over pretty much dwindled to zero. The last time he can remember having a party at his house was his sixteenth birthday, where he and his friends had had a barbecue in his backyard, much like today. His mom has pulled out all the stops, making enough food that in Barry’s opinion could feed a small army.

            After he helps his dad nail down the tethers to the badminton net, he goes to fill up the blow up pool they have. It’s small and Barry feels almost stupid for filling it up in the first place since there’s no way that six people in their twenties could fit in it, but he fills it up anyway. He yelps when a cold blast of water splashes against his back and he drops the hose. Whipping around, he sees his dad with a squirt gun and a huge smile on his face. “I found a bunch of them in the garage,” his dad explains, gesturing to the pile of them sitting on the metal porch table. “I figured you guys would enjoy them.”

            Barry flushes and laughs. “Dad, it’s not like we’re a bunch of kids!”

            His dad chuckles and sets the squirt gun down next to the others. “Compared to me you might as well be,” he says, turning back to the barbecue.

            The doorbell rings as Barry’s trying to wring the back of his shirt out, and he slips past the screen of the sliding glass door as his mom answers the front door. “Arin, Suzy! Good to see you!” She says pleasantly, gesturing for them to come inside. Arin is wearing board shorts with a towel tucked underneath his arm and Barry’s glad that he remembered to text everyone about bringing swimsuits just in case. “My husband is just starting the burgers and hotdogs so they should be ready soon, please make yourself at home!”

            “Hey man!” Arin says, walking over to Barry and giving him a hug. He almost jumps back immediately. “Dude did you start the party without us?” He asks through a laugh while gesturing at Barry’s shirt.

            “My dad found the squirt guns.”

            Arin laughs and puts up a halting hand. “’nough said.”

            “Are we the first ones here, Barry?” Suzy asks, glancing around.

            Barry nods. “Yeah, but Ross should be here soon, you know how excited he was for the party.”

            Arin and Suzy nod at the same time and Barry has to hold back a laugh at just how in sync they are with one another. “Barry, why don’t you show your friends where they can put their things,” his mom says, giving him a look as she heads outside with a stack of plates in her hands.

            Barry flushes. “Oh! Right! Sorry! You can dump your stuff in the mud room if you want,” he says, walking that way. Both Suzy and Arin follow after him, Suzy hanging up her bag on one of the coat pegs. Arin just dumps his backpack on the floor but keeps his towel tucked underneath his arm. “You should see the backyard. We set up the volleyball net and like I said my dad found a bunch of squirt guns.”

            “Ross’ll have a field day with those,” Arin practically grumbles, and it makes Suzy laugh.

            “He’s gonna be on your ass so you better watch it.” She says.

            “Isn’t that your job?” Arin asks with a shit eating grin. All it earns him is a gentle smack to the shoulder that’s more of a formality than anything

            He leads them to the backyard and they just slip out the door before the doorbell rings again. Speaking of Ross. “I got it, Mom,” he says when his mom starts to stand from the lawn chair she was lounging on.

            He slips back in the house and answers the door, the linoleum cold on his bare feet. As he predicted, it’s Ross who’s behind the door. “I brought _booze_ —“He starts to exclaim but Holly comes up from behind him and scolds him.

            “Ross, I told you, what if his parents aren’t ok with us drinking? Go put it back in the car!”

            Ross pouts. “Spoilsport,” he mumbles, but does as she says anyway, jogging back to the car with two six packs in his hands.

            Holly rolls her eyes with a fond smile. “I tried to tell him.”

            Barry laughs, “It’s ok, maybe we can drink it later.”

            “And who’s this?” Barry’s mom asks, appearing from nowhere.

            Barry cringes slightly. No Mom, it’s definitely absolutely not like that. Thankfully Holly intervenes smoothly. “Hi, I’m Holly, Ross’s girlfriend,” she says, offering her hand.

            Barry’s mom laughs and returns the handshake. “It’s nice to meet you Holly. Where is Ross?”

            “He forgot something in the car,” Holly lies smoothly. Damn she’s good.

            “I’m here!” Ross announces, coming into the house, sans the alcohol and the backpack that was on his back. Barry has a feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was full of alcohol as well.

            “It’s good to see you again Ross,” his mom acknowledges.

            “Ditto,” Ross replies, digging his hands into the pockets of his own board shorts.

            “Holly you can set your stuff down in the mudroom if you want,” Barry says, throwing a thumb over his shoulder.

            “Mmkay,” Holly replies, following after Barry.

            Afterwards he leads both Ross and Holly outside, and Ross whistles. “Shit man this is a nice backyard,” he murmurs.

            Barry beams, pride welling up in his chest. While his dad starts to ask his friends what kind of food they want, there’s a loud knock at the door. “That must be Danny, I’ll get it!” Barry says, jogging into the house and to the front door. He smiles when he opens the door and Dan is on the other side.

            “Oh thank God I have the right house,” Dan says with a bright smile. He turns around to the car parked on the street. “You can do now _Dad_ , it’s the right house!” He yells. Barry can just see over Dan’s shoulder that it’s Brian driving the car, and with a casual flip off he drives away.

            Barry laughs and invites Dan inside, and he unabashedly looks around, a content smile on his face. Barry notices he’s wearing jeans like he usually does. When Dan finally looks at him, his eyes flicker down for a moment and his smile falters. “Did you get my text about swimsuits?” Barry asks with a slight wince.

            Dan makes a face and shakes his head, his curls moving with the motion. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out his phone—which has a blue peacock phone case, Barry notices—and curses under his breath. “My phone was on silent,” he says with a frown.

            Barry chews on his lip. “Well I have an extra swimsuit…I don’t know if it’ll fit you right though…” He says.

            Dan’s lips quirk up marginally. “It’s fine, I’ll just wear my jeans.”

            It’s Barry’s turn to make a face. “But chafing…”

            It makes Dan laugh. “Do you mean ‘but chafing,’ or ‘butt chafing?”

            “Can it be both?” Barry asks. Dan puts a hand on his shoulder.

            “Stop being such a worry wart, Barold.”

            Barry blinks. “Barold?”

            “It’s your new name, I’ve decided,” Dan replies with a decisive nod. “Now you said something about food?”

            “In the backyard. Everyone else is already here,” Barry says with a smile. He leads Dan outside and introduces him to his parents. “This is Danny.”

            His dad grips Dan with a firm handshake. “Nice to meet ya. So, burger or hotdog?”

            “Burger,” Dan says with a smile.

            “On it,” his dad replies, flipping another patty onto the grill.

            Dan plops down in one of the metal chairs surrounding the porch table, taking in the greenery. “Damn, Barry, your backyard is awesome!”

            Barry flushes. “You should thank my parents, they did all the landscaping.”          

            “You mean your father did all the landscaping. I just watered and weeded plants,” his mom comments, sipping at her lemonade contentedly.

            “It helped!” His father urged, flipping the lid to the barbecue open to check on the food.

            His mother waves him off and turns her attention to his friends. “Can I interest anyone in a drink? We have water, milk, lemonade, apple juice, beer?” She glances at Dan as she says the last one.

            “Can I have a beer please?” Ross pipes up almost immediately.

            Barry’s dad gives him a half-hearted side-eye. “I am at least 80% sure that you’re not old enough to drink.”

            Ross winces. “You’re not gonna card me are you?”

            Holly thankfully intervenes again. “He’ll have milk thank you,” She says to Mrs. Kramer, putting a hand on Ross’ knee just so he’ll hush.

            “A beer would be nice, thanks,” Dan smiles. Barry almost misses the pinched look Arin gets on his face. He has no time to analyze it though since his mom catches his attention.

            “Could you help me dear?” she asks. He nods and stands, following her into the house. He’s grabbing a couple of glasses out of the cupboard when his mom speaks again. “So Dan seems like he’s older than your other friends…” she trails of softly, and Barry knows she’s expecting an answer. “Where did you meet him?” Barry flushes and runs a hand over his face to get it to calm down.

            He panics when he goes to tell his mom that Dan isn’t _that_  much older than him and realizes that he doesn’t actually know how old Dan is. “He’s only a couple of years older than me,” he lies, hoping that it’s the truth. “I met him at work, plus he’s friends with Arin.” He tacks on the last part, knowing that his mom likes Arin and would trust his judgement.

            She smiles. “Alright then, I just wanted to make sure that you’re not socializing with unsavory people,” she says with a sagely nod.

            Barry makes a face as he pours ice and water into two of the glasses. “Just because he’s got crazy hair and holes in his jeans doesn’t mean he’s unsavory,” he says and immediately regrets it. His mom looks at him, and it’s the look of ‘excuse me?’ He scrambles to fix his tremendous error. “Sorry, it’s just you’re not the first person I’ve seen who thinks he’s not a good person just ‘cause he looks the way he does.”

            The dangerous mom look recedes and she sighs. “I understand, sweetie, you know I’m just looking out for your wellbeing.”

            Barry nods and leans his head on her shoulder since both of their hands are full. “I know, thanks mom,” he says before heading back outside.

            The food is ready, and while Mr. Kramer is dishing out the food, Barry helps his mom in handing out the drinks. He settles in his seat next to Dan and sighs digging into his burger. His mom hands his dad and Dan a beer and Dan easily opens it by pressing it against the side of the metal table and cracking his hand down on it. The bottle cap pops off and drops to the ground with a quiet little ‘tink’. “We do have a bottle opener, Danny,” his dad says with a raised brow, and Dan flushes, scrubbing a hand through the back of his curls.

            Barry looks away because he’s never seen Dan look so embarrassed before and it makes a wave of secondhand embarrassment wash through him. Ross interrupts his inner turmoil with a loud, unihibited burp. Holly gives him a look. “Ross!”

            “’Scuse me!” he says easily. There’s nothing on his plate and no milk in his glass. Barry doesn’t even remember seeing him take a bite.

            His dad offers seconds over without even being asked, and they continue on with their lunch, the backyard starting to really heat up as the time passes by. By the time they’ve finished eating, Barry has sweat that’s _just_ starting to trickle down his lower back. As Mrs. Kramer gathers everyone’s plates, he offers to help, but she just bids him to go have fun with his friends and pulls his dad inside to help with dishes.

            “Your parents are really nice, Barry,” Holly says, and the others nod in agreement.

            “Are you an only child?” Ross asks and Barry shakes his head.

            “Naw, I have and older brother, but he doesn’t live with us anymore,” he shrugs. “It’s weird but also kind of nice.”

            They all sit in silence for a moment, and even though it’s companionable and not awkward at all, Barry feels the need to entertain. “So, do you guys wanna play badminton or something?” He blurts, standing up abruptly.

            “Sounds fun!” Suzy says, and they all start to stand.

            “Shirt’s versus skins!” Ross shouts, shedding his shirt and throwing it behind him without looking.

            “Ross that’s not how the game works—” Holly tries to tell him, but he’s not listening as he grabs one of the rackets that his parents left out for them.

            “Arin, Dan, I want you on my team!” Ross shouts, settling on one side of the net.

            “How is that fair?” Suzy asks.

            “That way it’ll be couples versus,” Ross replies as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

            Barry’s face flushes absolutely scarlet. He isn’t insulted, just absolutely embarrassed. He knows how it splits down. Arin against Suzy, Holly against Ross, and him against…

            He glances over at Dan who just chuckles as he stands. “Whatever you say, Ross.”

            He needs to keep it cool, so he looks at Holly and Suzy. “How ‘bout we shows these boys how it’s done?" He asks with a confidence he  doesn't really have.

            Suzy grabs a racket and taps Barry’s shoulders as if she’s knighting him. “For this game, Barry, I dub you an honorary girl. May you serve our kind well.”

            “And may our battle prove fortuitous!” Holly exclaims, wielding her racket like a sword.

            Barry laughs and grabs a racket and bends his knees, gripping his racket tight and grinning like an idiot.

 

            It’s a long and gruesome battle, with the scores close throughout the entire game. But when Barry actually full on dives for a shot and gets a point, all of them agree that it was the winning shot and its girls’ win.

            Holly and Suzy hug him tight, cheering for their win. Suzy pats him on the head. “You served the kingdom well, Lady Barry.”

            Barry is still panting from exertion and his heart feels like it’s going to burst out of his chest, but his face hurts from smiling and laughing so much. He’s about to go sit down for a moment, but suddenly his back is covered in freezing cold water. It makes him stand up on his toes as he whips around to see Ross standing in front of the squirt guns his dad brought out earlier.

            “The battle may be over, but the war has just begun!” Ross yells, brandishing his acquired squirt gun.

            Everyone freezes before the yard breaks out into chaos. Suzy scrambles for cover around the side of the house. Holly bolts towards Ross, obviously not caring that she’s being soaked by him. Arin and Dan try to go to him to provide aid, but Barry knows his backyard better than anyone, and reaches the hose. He twists it on and places his thumb partially over the nozzle, shooting the water far enough to absolutely soak Arin, but Dan dodges just in time.

            “You’ll have to be faster than that, Barry!” He shouts, scrambling behind and setting up a lawn chair at the other side of the yard like it’s a barricade.

            Barry keep stationed next to the hose, preparing to spray Arin or Danny if they get any closer. “Suzy, Holly’s got Ross distracted, get some guns!”

            “Got it!” Suzy replies, pattering quickly behind Ross, who’s too busy fighting for the gun with Holly, and grabs two guns.  In the meantime, Arin and Dan seemed to have created a plan. Dan goes towards the guns while Arin goes for Suzy and Barry presses his thumb harder against the hose and waves it in an arc, hitting both of them. It’s in vain, since Arin wrenches one gun out of Suzy’s hand and pushes her away. She slips and ends up head first in the little pool, and everyone freezes. It takes Suzy a couple of seconds to resurface, coughing and spluttering. “Oooh I am gonna get you!” She says, spraying Arin in the face with her squirt gun. The chaos starts again as if it never ended.

           

            They all eventually get guns, but since Suzy is guarding the pool by actually sitting in it, and Barry is manning the hose, Arin, Ross, and Danny are running out of water, fast.

            It seems they have one last plan. All three of them stand up from behind their makeshift lawn chair fort, guns in hand. Dan has apparently shucked his shirt off while he was behind the fort and tied the shirt around his forehead like some kind of waterlogged Rambo. They all pump their guns ready and head out of their fort at the same time. Arin heads for Suzy, Ross for Holly, and Dan at Barry. Barry flushes because until now he’s never even thought about what Dan looks like without a shirt on, but now that it’s in front of him it sort of frazzles his brain and it’s all he can pay attention to. Too late he realizes that he’s being charged at and tries to aim the hose at Dan but it’s too late, Dan knocks the hose out of his hand and kicks Barry’s squirt gun out of reach. “Surrender!” Dan pants with a smile, out of breath.

            Barry lifts his hands up in surrender, looking at Dan, but then to the hose on the grass at his feet. “Death first!” Barry exclaims, diving for the hose. He slips on the wet grass but manages to grab the hose at the same time Dan dives after him. They end up scrambling for the hose, getting even more soaked than they were before. Barry ends up with water up his nose and he sputters, but he doesn’t give up. Only when Dan slips around him and pins his hands to the ground, the shirt around his forehead dripping into his face, does Barry stop. Dan is panting and flushed from exertion, still smiling as he leans over Barry. The water has made his jeans heavy and they’ve slipped down, hanging dangerously low on his hips and it takes everything Barry has not to glance down there. It happens anyway and he flushes scarlet.

            “Surrender,” Dan says softly, leaning further down to look Barry in the eye, the grip on his wrists tightening ever so slightly.

            Time has suddenly stopped and there’s no one else in the yard but Dan and him. The bright sun, which is heading westward, is just behind Dan’s head and it makes it look like a halo shining right behind his doused curls. Barry’s breath catches. For all intents and purposes it looks like Dan is going to kiss him and there’s a sudden flair in his gut and his brain that tells him that this is familiar. It feels far too familiar for Barry’s liking and he doesn’t understand why. He doesn’t try to get out of Dan’s grasp, doesn’t even try to speak, he just freezes, looking up at Dan feeling more and more that this has happened before, but for the life of him he can’t think of anything.

            Dan’s smile drops and a look of concern spreads across his face. “Barry? Are you ok? I didn’t hurt you did I?”

            It takes Barry a second to find his voice, he swallows twice before speaking. “No,” he squeaks. “I’m fine.” Dan opens his mouth but he’s interrupted by Barry’s dad.

            “Alright kids, break it up before you flood my lawn!” He shouts good-naturedly. “Besides, the fireworks are gonna start soon and I got some ground ones we can set off.”

            “Aren’t those illegal here?” Ross asks.

            Mr. Kramer smiles. “You know it.” Before heading back inside.

            Ross gets a wicked smile on his face ad abandons his squirt gun, heading inside before Mrs. Kramer stops him. “Not before you dry off please,” she says kindly, handing him a towel from the bunch in her hands. The moment between him and Dan is broken, and Dan pulls himself away, but not before a one more concerned look at Barry. He stands and pulls the shirt from his head, wringing it out easily. Barry sits up and he feels marginally dizzy and sick to his stomach, willing the déjà vu to go away. He stands and shakes himself out, trying to get out of the funk. He trudges over to his mom, accepting the offered towel. “Did you have fun?” She asks.

            Barry smiles and nods. He did.

 

            It’s just starting to get dark when Mr. Kramer pulls out the ground fireworks he bought. He hands the sparklers and a lighter to Holly and entrusts her to not give anything flammable to Ross without proper supervision. “Promise,” she says with a salute.

            The rest of the neighborhood seems to crawl out of their homes to set off their own ground fireworks, setting up and getting ready for the big ones yet to come. Mr. Kramer does a great job at arranging and lighting the fireworks for maximum efficiency and beauty, and the group shout and whistle as they are set off, one after another.

            Barry is sitting on the driveway, swirling a sparkler around absently, when Dan sits down next to him with a beer. His shirt is back on and marginally less soaked than before. He reaches into his pocket and grabs one of his keys, once again popping the beer open with ease. “Hey Bar,” he says softly, slipping his keys back into his pocket and taking a sip of his beer.

            Barry’s heartrate skyrockets again and he chews viciously on the inside of his lip. “Hi.” He’s sure Dan is gonna ask what the hell was going on with him earlier, and he’s going to have to explain the weird déjà vu feeling and Dan is going to think he’s weird and —

            Dan sighs and runs a hand through his drying curls. “Are you _sure_ I didn’t hurt you earlier? I’d feel like a dickbag if I did.”

            It’s the opposite of what he expects Dan to say, and all the tension leaves Barry at once. He lets out a relieved laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

            Dan takes a sip of beer and knocks his shoulder against Barry’s. “Good.”

 

            When the big fireworks start, Mr. and Mrs. Kramer retire for the evening. “Don’t stay up too late, ok?” She says to all of them, and they all agree.

            Once they’re inside, Ross’s smile splits his entire face. “Who wants boooooze~” He says, as if he’s been waiting the whole night for it.

            Barry’ stomach flips a little at the mention of alcohol. Ross goes to the car and grabs his backpack which Barry is now convinced is full of alcohol, Holly follows after him with a pile of blankets. “Do you think we can set these up on the roof, Barry?” She asks.

            Barry nods, standing up. “I’m gonna head inside and get some more blankets. It might get cold and we’re still damp.

            “I’ll help,” Dan says, standing up and following after him.

            Barry internally curses Dan’s good nature. He leads him into the house and towards the hall closet, where he pulls enough blankets out that could create a fairly impressive blanket fort. “Hold one, there’s one from my room I wanna get.”

            He steps lightly and quickly towards his room so he doesn’t wake his parents and flips the light on in his room. He grabs the 6ft fluffy Deadpool blanket Arin had gotten him from Comic-Con last year and wraps it around his shoulders. He turns and yelps when he sees Dan standing at the threshold of his room, looking casually around. “Nice digs,” he says, and Barry can’t tell whether or not he’s joking. He’s got a bunch of movie and comic posters and prints everywhere on his walls, and for once he feels kind of ashamed about it.

            “Thanks,” he flushes, going to the door and making Dan back out. He flips off the light and pushes past Dan.

            “I meant it,” Dan says casually and suddenly Barry feels like a Grade-A asshole. He turns to look at Dan before they head outside.

            “Thanks,” he says softly, and he means it this time.

 

            When he gets outside, he leads everyone through the gate in his side yard, where his dad set up the ladder so they could climb on the roof. “I’ll go last and hand up the blankets,” he says, since he’s done this dozens of times before. “Step carefully and stay near the top so you don’t fall off ok?”

            One by one the rest of his friends climb up together. After everyone is safely on the roof, he hands up the blankets to Arin and Dan, who effectively hand them around. Barry notices that Dan doesn’t hand out his Deadpool one. Barry nimbly climbs up the ladder and settles into a perfect spot to view the Disneyland fireworks. They may be kind of far away, but Disney puts on such a massive show every year that Barry has never had a problem seeing them. Ross comes walking by, alcohol in hand and Barry gets worried. He doesn’t want a drunk Ross on his roof. “Don’t drink too much up here, ok?” He asks.

            Ross nods. “Roger.” He then offers a bottle. “Want something?”

            Barry chews on his lips. “Do you have anything that doesn’t taste like alcohol?”

            Ross thinks. “Uh yeah, you like apple?”

            It’s not Barry’s favorite, but he likes it enough, so he nods. Ross reaches into his backpack and pulls out what looks like a clear beer bottle full of water. “What is it?”

            “Smirnoff Ice,” Ross replies. “It’s a vodka ale that’s actually got more alcohol in it than most beers.”

            Barry takes it. “Thanks Ross.”

            “No problem, bro,” Ross winks before settling down a little further down on the roof next to Holly. He drapes a blanket over her and kisses her cheek when he sits down, and Barry doesn’t even fight the smile that pulls at his lips.

            A blanket settles around him and he looks up to find Dan draping his Deadpool blanket over his shoulders. “Thanks,” he flushes.

            “Welcome,” Dan replies, settling down with his own drink. Barry fiddles with the bottle in his hands, wondering how he’s gonna open it. “Those have a twist top,” Dan comments casually, not looking at Barry but up at the fireworks.

            Barry buries his chin into his chest. “Thanks,” he murmurs. It feels like that’s all he’s said to Dan in the past twenty minutes. He twists the bottle and takes a little sip, just to be sure, but Ross was right, it’s good. He takes a bigger sip and settles back to watch the fireworks, laughing lightly at how Ross is bouncing next to Holly, unable to contain himself. Arin and Suzy are next to them, Suzy resting back against Arin’s front. They have two blankets wrapped around them and they look incredibly content. “Today was really fun, Barry,” Dan says suddenly. “Thanks for inviting me.”

            Barry looks up at the other man, who’s smiling easily. “You’re welcome,” Barry replies. He then notices a chill go through Dan and the older man has the decency to flush lightly and scratch the back of his neck. Before Barry can think about what he’s about to do, he opens an arm, offering some of the blanket to Dan. Dan blinks bur Barry beats him to speaking. “Scooch.”

            “But—“

            Barry smiles, “I’m not gonna offer again.” But he knows that he would.

            Dan lets out a little huff of a laugh, scooting close enough so that Barry can drape the blanket over his shoulder. Barry brushes the skin on Dan’s neck with his fingertips when he pulls his hand back around and he flushes, gripping his drink hard enough he’s sure it’d crack with any more strain. “Thanks Bar,” Dan says softly.

            “Welcome” Barry replies.

            They settle back without another word and watch as fireworks from multiple directions start to bloom and paint the sky in beautiful colors.

 

            Now Barry is about four drinks in and his mind is pleasantly fuzzy. He was hesitant to drink earlier, but the green apple Smirnoff Ice doesn't taste like he's pouring lighter fluid directly into his throat. It doesn't taste like alcohol at all really, which could be potentially really dangerous, but he finds he's getting tipsy slower. When he drank with Dan the drunkenness just slammed him out of nowhere. Now he can feel a slow warmth spreading through his body and his brain, and the nice cottony feeling in his brain makes him sort of understand why people get drunk. If it feels like this more often than not, it's not bad. He doesn’t know how many drinks everyone else has had, especially Dan, who’s had two beers already. Barry gazes at the man in question out of the corner of his eye as he sips his own drink. Dan looks incredibly content. There's an easy smile tugging at the corner of his lips and Barry can feel his own face mirroring it. He leans back on one of his hands and his fingers brush Dan's. "Oh sorry—" he says as he starts to pull his hand away but Dan pulls his hand away first, only to come back and lace their fingers together under the warmth of the blanket without looking at Barry. He his eyes are on the fireworks that are just starting to die down. Barry just about squawks when a particularly large firework off in the distance causes Ross to 'Ooooh~' loudly. It reminds Barry that they're not actually alone, that he can't demand that Dan explain himself. It boggles his fuzzy mind that for now the second time today he’s forgotten that it’s not just him and Dan. His mind gets pulled back to what happened earlier and he tries to pull away but Dan's hold on his hand is firm and his already drunk flush gets a new wave of embarrassment blush over top of it. Dan finally acknowledges Barry with a sly look out of the corner of his eye.

            "Shhh~" he hushes gently, rubbing his thumb over the back of Barry's hand in small soothing circles before returning his attention back to the fireworks.

            Barry doesn't know what to think. His alcohol addled mind can't parse any further than the fact that Dan's hand is so warm and that that warmth is starting to spread across his entire body, settling in his stomach and chest. He feels comfortable even though his heart is beating a thousand miles a minute and he's sure that Dan can hear it even over the din of the fireworks. He tries to return his attention to the sky, but he keeps stealing glances at Dan, who after a while glances back at him and smiles. It makes Barry bite his lip and snap his head back towards the fireworks, his already dangerous heartbeat skyrocketing at getting caught staring. A squeeze to his hand brings his attention back to Dan. The man is looking him in the eyes now, his attention all on Barry and Barry's stomach flutters at the look he's giving him; a gentle smile coupled with the still soothing rubs of his thumb and it hits Barry like a truck.

 

            He realizes right then and there that he may or may not have a horribly huge crush on Daniel Avidan.

 

            Shit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of shit happened in the past couple of months, but I haven't given up on this I promise!
> 
>  
> 
> Also I just wanted to mention that with this chapter, this fanfiction has now become the longest thing I've ever written!


	8. Crushcrushcrush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am the worst kind of person. Leaving people on a cliffhanger for almost a year. BUT I'm back! With a little something something added if you look in the tags. *wink*
> 
> Also if you wanted to see the point of view of other characters, this is the chapter for you! If not...well at least I'm back, right?
> 
> I tried to look through this to fix as many mistakes as I could but if I missed any glaring ones I'm sorry.

        Brian drives up to the house at midnight, just as he promised when he dropped him off, and Dan is hesitant to move.

        The fireworks truly ended about an hour ago, but that doesn't stop the few people who somehow obtained fireworks from shooting the occasional one off. He's comfortable and pleasantly warm despite still being damp and the chill in the air. He has Barry to thank for that. Barry, who's on the pleasant side of tipsy, heading towards drunk, with his face flushed in a mix of what Dan guesses is probably more embarrassed than drunk. It makes his lips quirk in a small smile. Barry has marginally relaxed from earlier, but still refuses to look Dan in the eye for more than a few milliseconds. Dan can't have that. He squeezes the hand that's still in his and leans to the side. He brings his lips to Barry's ear and they just brush the shell. It gets him a brilliant shiver and a beautiful hitch of breath from the younger man and Dan grins. "Looks like my ride's here," he whispers and Barry shivers again. His face is practically scarlet, and Dan chuckles. It's cute. Dan has always thought it was entertaining to see Barry blush, ever since the first day he started his new job when he met the younger man.

        Barry flushes quite often, and it’s in moments like these and in the dead of night when Dan's alone to his thoughts that he wonders what Barry's blush would look like in other situations.

        Would the blush reach down past his neck and make his chest red? Dan glances at Barry's neck, and smiles. He would definitely flush all the way down to his chest. How nice.

        The little spell he's under is broken when Barry speaks. "You shouldn't keep Brian waiting," he says, and it's more breath than speech.

        Dan smiles and finally pulls his hand away, slipping out from underneath the warmth of the blanket and Barry's body heat. A small shiver runs up his spine as he stands on not entirely stable legs. Barry finally looks up at him, his eyebrows knit in concern. Dan smiles easily. "See you guys, I had a good time."

        "Are you sure you can get down the ladder?" Barry asks softly, moving to stand. But he's far more tipsy than Dan is and the taller man waves him off.

        "I'll be fine," he assures.

        The others bid Dan a goodbye as he makes his way over to the ladder, ever so carefully climbing down. Once he reaches the driveway without incident, he waves back to them. Brian honks even though it’s midnight and Dan laughs. He plops into the car, a wide smile on his face.

        "Didn't know you were drinking tonight," Brian comments offhandedly, smoothly pulling away from the curb.

        Dan’s smile drops immediately. “Didn’t know you were my dad.”

        Brian sighs and rolls his eyes. “It was just an observation,” is all he says.

        “Thanks,” Dan grumbles, and absolutely does _not_ pout.

        Brian doesn't say another word the entire ride home, but Dan can still feel the judging aura and it frustrates him a little bit. So he had one or five or more drinks, it's not a big deal.

 

        Brian doesn't bother helping Dan into the apartment, he’s fine and wouldn't have accepted the help anyway. When they finally get inside, Brian practically beelines for his room. “Thanks again, Brian,” Dan says, heading towards his own room.

        “Whatever man, get some sleep ok?” Brian replies, and he sounds genuinely concerned.

        Dan smiles and gives Brian a thumbs up. “Promise.”

        Brian nods and shuts the door to his room, and Dan does the same, wobbling slightly as he flops onto his unmade bed. He sighs as the sheets cool his flushed cheeks. He didn’t really drink that much, did he?

        He lays there, practically face planted into the bed, and contemplates the disadvantages of falling asleep in his clothes. He still has his contacts in, and it’s only now when he notices that it feels like they’re stuck to his fucking eyeballs. He groans quite loudly into his pillow before rolling over and getting up. He strips off his jacket and shirt quickly, tossing them on the ground for Tomorrow Dan to deal with before leaving his room and heading to the bathroom. In a ritual he can honestly say he’s done a thousand times, Dan removes his contacts and puts them in their little blue case. He brushes his teeth, not wanting old alcohol taste in his mouth for the morning. He can at least give Tomorrow Dan that. He stumbles back into his room and changes into the sweats he wore to bed last night before turning the light off. He narrowly avoids crashing his foot into the metal bed frame as he flops into bed once again, hushing the bed as it creaks under the strain.

        His mind is still pleasantly fuzzy, not so much as before, but enough that the last image that slips through his mind before he falls into precious unconsciousness is the look on Barry’s face when Dan pinned him to the ground during their water fight.

       

 

        Dan groans, tossing his head against his pillow. He positively _aches_. He palms at his cock through his sweats and his breath catches. “Fuck,” he breathes, his hips hitching into his hand.

        His eyes slip closed, and he grinds against his palm. What the hell was it about alcohol that got him horny for no fucking reason? He doesn't even remember waking up, only that he's so hard that it actually _hurts_. His mind is foggy from sleep, and he slips in and out of consciousness as he slowly rubs at his erection. He nearly falls asleep a number of times, but his arousal is just strong enough to break through the fog of his mind and keep him teasing. He’s tired, and his brain begs for sleep, so he finally slips his hand inside his underwear and grips himself. A shuddery gasp escapes his lips and he turns his head into his pillow, letting out a harsh pant as he slowly slides his hand up and down his cock. “F-fuck” he breathes.

 

        It’s almost three in the morning and Barry can’t sleep. It feels like his face is perpetually flushed and there’s a very good chance that it actually is. Once Dan had left, everyone else agreed it would probably be for the best if they went home. After cleaning up and saying his goodbyes, Barry crept as quietly as he could into the house while still a little drunk so he wouldn’t wake his parents. He managed to change into his pajamas and brush his teeth without incident, wrapping himself up in his Deadpool blanket and curling into a ball on his bed, every moment with Dan leading up to his realization playing in his head. That’s where he is now; flushed and still slightly buzzed and thinking about Danny and how the fuck he ended up having a crush on the guy. He cringes in on himself, feeling stupid for even thinking the word.Yet thinking back on how he’s behaved ever since he met Dan he might as well have had a sign flashing above his head that says, “I’m into you but too stupid to realize.”

        Has Dan known this whole time?

        Oooookay it’s not a road he wants to walk down at three in the morning but that’s where he’s going. From his behavior tonight, Dan has at least an inkling or suspicion that Barry likes him.

        Well maybe that was it? Maybe Dan was acting that way as a test? Testing out whether or not Barry likes him so he can text him later and say, “Hey man I know you like me but I’m not into dudes so better luck next time?”

        That brings up another question in Barry’s mind. Does he like guys? Arin pops into his head for some fucking reason and he shakes his head to get the image out of his mind. Okay no let’s _definitely_ not go down that road at three in the morning.

        Barry shifts and he catches a whiff of what he assumes is Dan’s cologne or something. It sends a flush of embarrassment across his face as he does it but he curls in on himself and breathes deeply, thinking about how Dan holding his hand had almost made his brain explode.

        Okay...maybe it’s just Dan. He can deal with that right? If it’s just Dan maybe he can get over it and move on with his life without any other incident happening. Now that he’s actually aware of his crush on Dan he can now do everything within his power to stop him from embarrassing himself. Yeah, that sounds like a solid plan.

        ‘Cause it’s not like there’s any chance in Dan liking him back…

        Right?

 

        Dan pants into his pillow, the temperature in his room and his body rising as he pumps his hand fervently up and down his dripping erection. His mind is slightly more clear and alert at the face of impending orgasm, but it’s still quite hazy from sleep. He isn’t thinking anything particularly sexy as he thrusts up against his hand, moaning sleepily at the drag of his palm. A passing thought wishes he would come soon just so he can finally go to sleep and his mind helpfully provides an image from not that long ago and warps it.

        Pink lips open in a surprised gasp, melting into pants of exertion. Flushed skin from the heat, shiny with moisture. They weren’t naked when it happened, of course not, but they are now, and the slight wetness in those blue green eyes that almost look like tears brings him ever so close.

 _“Surrender,”_   he hears himself say even though only harsh breaths escape his lips.

        The skin below him flushes darker and Dan can’t even take it. Arms reach up and hook around Dan’s neck and some part of his brain knows he’s in full fantasy mode when he hears a breathless oath of his name in his ear.

_“Dan please.”_

        His orgasm hits and he barely remembers to muffle his cry into his pillow. He spills over his hand and it feels like it lasts an eternity before his body stops shaking.

        Dan falls back asleep without even having a chance to clean up or think over what just happened.

 

        Barry wakes up without knowing exactly when he fell asleep. He squints at the morning sun that’s filtering in directly over his eyes-one of his blinds is a little crooked-and groans. His Deadpool blanket is tangled around him and he feels like he’s actually gonna die with how hot it is already in his room. Apparently he’d been too preoccupied with other things to turn on the fan like a smart human being last night. He grumbles and tries his best to disentangle himself from his blanket so he can reach over and turn the fan on. He let’s out a sigh when a wall of cool air washes over his face and he plops back down, making sure that the light beam isn’t in his fucking eyes this time. He slips his eyes closed and blindly reaches for his phone which should be here somewhere damn it all. It reveals itself to be under one of his pillows and he clicks it on, cracking a single eye open to check what the hell time it is. It’s 7:14 in the morning.

        “Fuck that,” Barry groans and pulls the Deadpool blanket over his head, determined to fall back asleep.

        A scent tickles his nose and last night comes rushing back in all it’s confusing glory and Barry is suddenly a thousand percent more awake than he was five seconds ago. He curls in on himself just as he did last night and curses his brain and his blinds and the sun for waking him up in the first place. Was a few more blessed hours of unconscious ignorance too much to ask for?

        It was seriously too early in the morning to deal with the fact that he apparently has a huge fucking crush on Daniel Fucking Avidan and it’s barely been a month since they met.

        It feels so much longer than that and Barry feel stupid for that thought even crossing his mind. He’s heard that line maybe a thousand times in every romantic subplot Hollywood has ever shoved down the mass’ throats and he makes a face. He feels stupid, just plain fucking stupid and he has absolutely no idea what he should do.

 _Go back to sleep_ the last rational part of his brain tells him. _You can deal with this later._

        So Barry does.

 

        Waking up with his hand in his underwear covered in dried semen is not what Dan Avidan would call the most pleasant way to start a day. He doesn’t even remember jacking off last night but apparently that’s what happens when you drink too much before sleeping.

        Last night is a little too much of a blur for his own comfort. Once Ross had brought out the booze and the fireworks had started everything starts to get fuzzy. He knows why. After spending so much time actively avoiding alcohol only to start drinking pretty hard was in retrospect probably not the best idea.

        He pulls his hand away and it almost takes an actual effort to do so and it sends a shiver of disgust down his spine. Shower now, introspection later.

        He sets the shower to mildly scalding before dunking his head right under, sighing at the immediate headache relief. He must be getting old if he’s getting hangovers from a couple of drinks. Was it only a couple of drinks? God he must be fucking getting old if he can’t even remember how many drinks he had had the night before.

        A banging on the bathroom door echoes in his brain and Dan groans, leaning against the shower tiles as Brian shouts at him through the bathroom door.

        “Going to work!”

        “Don’t wait up.” Dan says back without his usual enthusiasm and resumes trying not to die of head pain.

        He downs two extra strength Tylenol once he’s out of the shower and moderately dry. He sips at a glass of water, zoning out and frowning at nothing the way that you do when you have a headache.

        He should put his contacts in because he’s squinting and that’s definitely not helping his head; or at least his glasses.

        He ends up just standing there, drinking water and frowning at nothing.

        What the hell even happened last night?

 

        He had seen how much Dan had drank yesterday and it didn’t sit well with him one bit. Not one bit.

        “-And Holly’s other bird First Officer Feathers hates my fucking guts and I have no idea why!” Ross’ voice breaks Arin out of his thoughts and he glances at Ross standing next to him on the prep line and he has no idea how long the other boy has been talking to him.

        “Uh huh?” He says, trying for a safe response.

        It doesn’t fly with Ross who gives him a look. “You didn’t hear a damn word I said, did you?”

        Arin sighs and brushes the back of his hand across his forehead. “Sorry man.”

        Ross just shrugs and goes back to slapping pepperonis on pizzas, humming off tune to the radio in the background. Arin feels slightly bad because he knows that people don’t listen to Ross because he talks so much. He wants to thunk his head against a wall with how overwhelmed he feels at the moment, but he just keeps cheesing pizzas and sliding them over to Ross, his brain an angry storm cloud of thoughts and worry.

        They work without talking to each other for a long while, focusing on their work and their own thoughts instead of trying to make the work day more enjoyable by kind of goofing off like they normally do.

        Ross then stops in the middle of what he’s doing and says in a low voice, “I think Barry likes Dan.”

        Arin’s heartbeat skyrockets. First Dan asks about Barry, and now Ross has to say something? He’s gotta play it cool. “You think?” He replies, and tries not to sound too fake. It comes out a little too over enthusiastic anyway.

        Ross doesn’t seem to notice but shrugs, sticking a pizza in the oven. “I don’t know,” is all he says and Arin wants to talk about it. Wants to talk about how Dan may also think Barry likes him and the fact that even he’s starting to think it too. He wants to talk about how uncomfortable it’s making him and how he’s worried for Barry. He wants to talk about it so fucking much but he keeps his mouth shut because he knows this isn’t the time or the place. It really isn’t even something he should be talking about with someone other than Barry. Arin sighs and brushes a stray hair out of his face with the back of his hand, using more force than he needs to as an outlet for his frustration.

        He really needs to talk to Barry.

        And Dan.

 

        Barry wakes up again around eleven, wrapped up in his blanket with one leg sticking out so he doesn’t get too cold from the fan, but doesn’t overheat. He’s groggy and yawns, his jaw creaking with how big it is. He rubs a hand down his face and stares up blankly at his ceiling, his eyes trying to make shapes in the texture. He doesn’t have to work today, but he needs to go over and get his check so he can deposit it.

        He doesn’t move.

        He sighs.

        He has a crush on Dan Avidan.

        Now that he’s gotten enough sleep and he’s not slightly buzzed his brain can actually articulate the thought. It still makes him flush anyway.

        How in the Hell did it even happen? He’s got no fucking clue. Everything was fine and then last night his brain decides to have an epiphany and he doesn’t fucking like it. He’s never liked having crushes. It’s never ended well for him and he doubts this will end well.

        Because crushes are never like they’re portrayed in the movies. Everything is butterflies and happiness and the hope for something more that eventually _does_ turn into something more

        Crushes are called crushes for a reason. They don’t feel good. Every moment spent with the crush is just a reminder that you’re not actually _together_. Once you go your separate ways that’s it, until the next encounter where you hope that maybe by some miraculous chance they’ll start to like you back, even if it’s just a little bit.

        Crushes keep you up at night because you can’t stop thinking about them. Your entire life somehow starts to revolve around them and every little thing reminds you of them and how much you like them. It’s like you’re not even your own person anymore.

        Then there’s the fear of being found out and rejected. The fear of the relationship changing, or God forbid being destroyed entirely. So you stay silent out of fear and you keep it inside because you would rather suffer than lose the good relationship you have. You begin the cherish the little things and take all the attention you can get because you think that’s all you’re _going_ to get.

        Or you ignore your feelings. You lock them up and push them so deep inside so that there’s no chance of being hurt.

        God, He wishes he could go back to bed.    

        But he can’t. So he pushes what he’s feeling down as deep as he can get it and drags himself out of bed, ready to face the day whether or not he’s actually ready.

       

        As Barry gets into his car and drives towards work, he prays to whatever deity and force in the universe willing to listen that Dan isn’t working today. Unfortunately for him, no one seems to be listening, because the moment he steps into the store he sees Dan’s curly mop of hair behind the heating racks.

        Fuck, fuck everything. A swirl of something makes Barry’s stomach churn, but he squishes it down again with an actual physical movement of clutching at the front of his shirt for a second. He tries to smile at Kat who’s standing at the front counter with a smile of her own. “Here to get your paycheck, Barry?” She asks.

        He wishes she hadn’t said his name because Dan looks up from the bread counter, looking right at Barry through the opening in the bread cooling racks.

        A thousand questions start swirling through Barry’s mind. The most prominent is: Do you remember what happened last night?

        But there’s no indication, not even the slightest movement that could pinpoint whether or not Dan remembers the night before. Their eyes meet and that swirling feeling hits his stomach again and he clutches to his shirt like a lifeline as he desperately attempts to squash it down again.

        “Barry, you okay?”

        Kat’s question pulls him away from Danny’s eyes and he laughs, trying to brush off the fact that he just completely ignored her in favor of Dan. “Yeah, sorry!” He says with a chuckle. “I guess I’m not feeling too well.”

        Kat seems to take the answer without question and Barry thanks the powers that be that they allow him at least that. “Partied too hard last night?” she jokes while leaning down below the counter to get his check from the safe.

        You have no fucking idea. He doesn’t say it, just takes the check from her with a smile he’s hoping isn’t too forced before leaving. He feels Dan’s stare and he tells himself over and over not to look. Don’t return the gaze because he doesn’t want a repeat of mere moments ago. So he doesn’t. He leaves, throwing a short, “bye,” over his shoulder and trying his best not to bolt to his car and burn rubber just to get the hell out of there. He manages to quickly walk to his car around the other side of the building, unlock the door with only one mulligan, and slip into the driver’s seat without incident.

        Barry’s stomach explodes and he rubs his palms against his eyes, as if trying to delete Dan’s stare from his retinas. He sighs loudly and tosses his check to the passenger’s seat before practically peeling out of the parking lot, trying desperately to quell the awful swirling in his stomach. This is not fucking good at all.

 

       Something almost definitely happened last night. With the way Barry had met his gaze and practically sprinted out of the store afterwards, Dan knows he’s done something. The fucking bummer is, he can’t fucking remember what it could have possibly been. He frowns and tosses a bag of bread onto the racks, trying to parse through the fog of last night. “Was that Barry?” Ross asks, leaning forward and trying to peek out the front windows. Arin leans too, tossing a glance Dan's way with a raised brow.

       Dan doesn't have a reason to lie, and he nods. “Yeah, it was.”

       Ross frowns as he slips a pizza into the rack beside him. “That's weird, he didn't even say hi.”

       Dan doesn't know why he gives Barry an excuse. He doesn't have to, but he does. He shrugs. “I don't know man, I think he was running late for something."

       “Oh,” Ross nods in understanding, sliding a pizza into the oven now. “That makes sense.”

 

       Arin knows it's a lie. Barry is never late for anything. He's always at least ten minutes early to everything. But he doesn't comment for now, just nods his assent.

       The work day comes to an end with nothing too catastrophic happening, and Arin is glad that they don't close at two in the morning like most other pizza joints. He takes off his visor and wipes his forehead with his forearm, sighing as he, Ross, Dan, and Kat walk outside to close the store. Even though it's early and the sun hasn't gone down yet, it's still cooler outside than inside. That's one of the downsides of working in the vicinity of a bunch of industrial ovens. “See ya everybody!” Kat says cheerily as she gets into her car.

       Arin waits until Ross leaves, waving at him as he speeds dangerously out of the parking lot. It's just him and Dan now.

       The taller man opens his mouth to speak, but Arin beats him to it. He gestures to his car as he unlocks it.

  
        “Get in man, we need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WILL FINISH THIS IF IT KILLS ME.


End file.
